________________
Cosmic and Purificatory Rite
695
The rite is at one and the same time both immanent and transcendent; immanent, because it takes place through and within the ātman of the person in its present as yet impure state and, by association with this ātman, through and in the cosmos; transcendent, in regard to its goal, the Liberation of the atman. The means employed to reach this goal are also transcendent: veneration for the arhats who enjoy eternal bliss, for the ācārya, the guruņi, the senior sādhvis, for that which in them is already purified and for those spiritual values already present in them that escape the clutches of time. 6
Every rite belongs to a tradition and bears its stamp. It conveys those who perform it, both men and women, towards the goal by recognised means, tried and accepted by the sages. Thus the rite of the āvaśyakas presents these two aspects, its specifically cosmic character and its purificatory effect.
The specifically cosmic character
Rites always have cosmic associations, because they take place in a particular place and in time. The rite of the avaśyakas, owing to the doctrine which gives shape to it, has a specifically cosmic aspect, intimately linked to the person performing it. On account of the vow of ahimsā and with a view to saṁyama, self-mastery, all animate beings down to the ant, the earth, water, the vegetable kingdom including moss and lichen are regularly mentioned in this rite. The sādhvis express sincere repentance for having, through negligence, struck, crushed or killed any of these lesser living beings. At the end of the sūtras of repentance, they ask pardon from all living beings and affirm their friendship for all.
As for the vow of sämāvika, it is a solemn promise for life not to perform any reprehensible or blameworthy activity, nor to provoke, or approve in others such activities. Now it is clear that these activities
6 For a more comprehensive study of hte cosmological aspect of worship, the philosophy underlying symbolic ritual and the theology of ritual action, cf. Panikkar, 1970, pp. 110-113; also 1977.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
