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52: Śramaņa, Vol 64, No. 1, Jan.-Mar. 2013 which imposes self restraint, carefulness and practice of daily essential duties and observing vows". Jain scriptures have classified right conduct in two categories namely: for a householder and for monks lascetics. Due to his/her inadequacies of determination, capabilities and involvement in worldly pursuits, a householder cannot pursue mokṣa mārga 100% of time. The practitioner gradually enhances the level of his detachment to worldly activities from almost beginning till he/ she attains ascetic status and starts practicing the conduct of the ascetics who practice it 100% all the time.
Penance - Tapa Penance is essential to achieve dissociation of existing karma from the empirical soul. Penance is broadly classified as external (six types) aimed at different types of abstinence from foods and gaining control over bodily tendencies, and internal (six types) to develop detachment from the worldly things and ultimately free the soul from kārmika matter by practicing proper interactions with others and learning, contemplating and meditating on the self /soul. Religious rituals and practices:
Rituals We shall divide these, derived from the six obligatory duties (Āvaśyaka), in routine daily religious activities performed at a place of worship called temple or sthānaka and periodic activities.
1. Daily: Pūjā/worship: Pūjā is an act of devotion or obeisance towards a divinity and interactions with that divinity in the form of making an offering to its iconic form or images /idols. Laity performs both dravya (with the aid of material substances) and bhāva (psychic or mental) pūjā. Sthānakavāsi Jains do not worship an iconic figure and hence perform only psychic pājā. Ācārya Jinasena says 'Reciting the virtues which are auspicious and acquired by Jinas is called pūjā / worship’. A devotee, who is all praise for these virtues; feels happy, contented and elated by reciting these virtues, such devotion results in earning meritorious karma and even attaining bliss. Throughout the pājā,
