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The Jain rituals are meaningful and often very beautiful. They are necessary to evoke devotional feelings in a lay person and keep the community together. The Prakrit (and here and there Sanskrit) language adds melody and dignity to the ancient prayers and has the additional advantage of uniting all devotees, whatever their speech outside, as a single universal language for all Jains. There are dangers. On the one hand, there is the danger of excessive ritualism, of seeing the rituals as an end in themselves with no thought to the meaning behind them. The use of a single ritual language, valuable though it may be in uniting all in a single faith, has one danger, that some may be content to mouth the sounds, beautiful in themselves, without understanding. On the other hand, there are those who are not prepared to understand and, in rejecting rituals, will throw overboard the whole of this ancient faith. On the one hand, it is the duty of all to seek to understand, and to help others understand, and those who provide guides and translations to the rituals are performing a valuable service. On the other hand, as the Sthanakvasis have shown, there are those whose spirit is moved by a simpler liturgy, and there is a home within the Jain faith for all those who understand.
THE DINA - CHARYA (Daily Duties)
The ideal layperson, Sravaka or Sravika, is expected to carry out the obligations of his religion in a uniform round, which serves as a framework for a description of the Puja, the Caitya Vandana and various avasyakas. The real importance of the dina-charya lies in its adoption as the preferred model for Sravakachars.
There may be some modification in this daily act, depending upon time, area and places of worship available.
THE NECESSARY DUTIES
The six daily avasyakas or necessary duties are traditionally:
(1) samayika-this is the subject also of a vrata and of a pratima;
(2) caturvimsati-stava-praise of the twenty-four Jinas (this is comprised in the caitya-vandana);
(3) vandanaka-worship (generally restricted to the ritual expression of respect to a monk or to the community of monks);
(4) pratikramana-the recitation of the formulae of confession of past faults;
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(5) pratyakhyana-the recitation of formulae for the forfending of future faults generally expressed in the form of abstinence from food and drink and comforts;
(6) kayotsarga-'the abandonment of the body' for a limited time.
The numbering of the avasyakas is that of the Svetambaras; the Digambaras reverse the positions of kayotsarga and pratyakhyana.
Those acaryas who follow the tradition of Jinasena have virtually replaced the avasyakas by a list of six daily karmans to be performed by the layman:
(1) puja-which in fact covers the samayika, caturvimsati-stava, and vandanaka;
(2) vrata-the exercise of an honest livelihood;
(3) dana-alms giving; this is the subject also of a
vrata;
(4) svadhyaya-study of the scriptures;
(5) samyama- the carrying out of the five anuvratas with complete self-discipline;
(6) tapas-which includes pratikramana, pratyakhyana, and kayotsarga.
The Sravaka awakens meditating on Namaskara mantra and as the torpor of sleep falls away, thinks and asks questions to himself. Whom am I? I am a Soul. What is my religion? What are my duties? What deeds have I to do today? What vices or faults I have not left because of my pramad (idleness)? What day is today? Which Tirthankar's auspicious occasion is today? He decides about prayakyana for the day in his mind.
The Householder, it may be normally the lady of the house, sweeps the floor so as not to hurt any tiny creatures which are moving on the floor filters the water to be used to protect floating souls in the water, cleans the utensils also to protect the living beings as well as the family members. Then after defecation, tooth-cleaning, tongue-scraping, mouth-rinsing, and bathing he is in a state of cleanliness, of ritual purity, he is to make dravya-puja and bhava-puja to the Jina image in the chapel of his own home and to undertake the form of pratyakhyana appropriate to the time of day. Before engaging in this act of worship he should if possible perform the six avasyakas.
The minimum Pratyakhyana (Pachhakhana) which is done by most lay persons is Navakarshi (48 minutes after sunrise before one takes his breakfast).
The devotee then seeks out the religious teachers and, repeating the pratyakhyana before them, listens to their exposition of the scriptures. He is enjoined to
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