Spiritual Code and Restraints

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 60

It may be remembered that the sixth restraint deals with laying the distance limitations on the activities and the seventh with the limitations on use and consumption of various articles. The purpose of this discipline is to lay additional limitations from time to time. Suppose, for instance, a person might have adopted the range of 1000 miles beyond which he would not extend his activities. But once in a while, he may decide to restrict his activities within the precincts of his neighborhood or even to confine the same within the four walls of any place. Similarly, instead of permitting himself to avail any of the articles, which are not forbidden by the seventh restraint, he may decide to take only one or a few of them at times, or may decide to make use of only one or two pieces of cloth and so on. He can then be said to be performing this discipline.
There is another aspect of this discipline of which the people are not generally aware. Sometimes it may be noticed that by going to a particular place or a country or by using some articles procured from such place, one may become prone to get involved in breach of the restraints that he might be otherwise observing. In that case, he may decide to drop such place from the range of his activities. This sort of avoiding any particular area from the purview of one's activities is also a part of this discipline.
There are people who at times perform Sämäyik all day long. Such people have to restrict their activities for that day within a particular area. They can therefore be said to be observing this discipline on that day. This discipline is usually observed for a day or a night. Therefore for all practical purposes, performing eight Sämäyiks at one particular place is considered as observance of this discipline.
Once a person adopts above-mentioned restrictions for a particular period, he needs to stay within the stipulated limitations. Any default in the matter is a transgression that should be avoided. If one happens to transgress the limitations, it is incumbent upon him to atone for the same. In tune with the general pattern, however, the Jain tradition classifies such a transgression in following five parts and treats them as five separate transgressions.
1) Preshya: This arises when the observer asks his servant or some other person to do something on his behalf, which would involve breach of limitation, if the activity was undertaken by himself.
2) Anayan: This arises when the observer gets something from beyond the stipulated limitations through a messenger or someone else.
3) Pudgalprakshep: This arises when the observer makes use of some objects by way of signals to call someone from beyond the stipulated distance.
4) Shabdänupät: This arises when the observer resorts to words or other vocal signals to ask someone from beyond the stipulated area to come closer.
5) Rupänupät: This arises if the observer calls such person not by vocal signals but by physical gestures.