WHY IS PARYUSHAN MAHAPARVE CELEBRATED FOR EIGHT DAYS ?

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Sep 2, 2013, 2:14:12 AM9/2/13

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PARYUSHAN means: Festival of self friendship and realization of soul. Festival of sacrificepenance & endurance. Festival of soul purification & self searchtime to keep aside the postwealth & prestige & be with the God. The time to forget & forgiveness make the enemy a friend & increase the love and kindness.

1st Day of Paryusan: The day of making the mind & soul pure and concentrate in vitrag.

2nd Day of Paryushan: On this day with the help of our sweet & kind speech spread the fragrance of inspiring virtues & constructive activities. Donate with free hand & become a king.

3rd Day of Paryushan: To make the Mind (soul) & Body Pure and pious with the self of sacrifice & penance. Self control & self-friendship is also practice. Meditation for enlightment.

4th Day of Paryushan: Rare occasion of gaining AatmaLaxmi.

5th Day of Paryushan: The day of "KALPASUTRA" sacred document of Jainism. On this day Bhagwan Mahavira's birth is celebrated with special celebrationsa part of which is the auction of 14 itemsdreams of by the Lords mother Trishala Deviwhile she was carrying him.

6th Day of Paryushan: 'SWAN' floating in the MANSAROVAR of Jain Empire (Religion SASAN)

7th Day of Paryushan: Day of Divine message of Tolerance & power of endurance.

8th Day of Paryushan: 'SAVANTSARI': The Day of the grand 'GATE WAY' of 'SALVATION' (Moksha).

Paryushana is a time of reflection on actions and meditation on the past year. Paryushana is marked by strict observance of the ten cardinal virtues: ForgivenessCharitySimplicityContentmentTruthfulnessSelf-restraintFastingDetachmentHumility and Continence. During the eight-day Paryushana festivalthe Swetambaras recite the religious textthe Kalpa Sutra (including a section on the birth of Lord Mahavira)on the fifth day. During this festivalJains of all ages visit the divine Temples/Derasar or Upashrayas to listen to the discourses and readings of Kalpa Sutra. In the eveningsJains perform a kriya called Pratikramana form of meditation to reflect on spiritual journey.

Most Jains fast in some form or the other in these days. It is not and uncommon sight to see 8 day fasterswho do not consume anything in these eight days. Even water must be boiled and can be drunk only between 9-10 a.m. To 5- 6 p.m. (approx.) Every now and then one does come across a faster who has not eat for a whole month too!!! Penance and fasting are the key words in these days. Many Jains abstain from onionsgarlicpotatoesfermented foodroot vegetables and green vegetables.

In the Swetambar sectan 8-day festival is celebrated that ends either on Bhadrapada Shukla 4 or Bhadrapada Shukla 5. The last day is called Samvatsarishort for Samvatsari Pratikramana. Seven days are days of attainment and the eighth day is one of fulfillment or achievement. It is at this time that Jains embark on their respective annual pratikramana - a reflection on their spiritual journey for the past year.

On this day they also observe a unique customwhere they ask every individual they may have offended during the year for forgiveness. Old quarrels are forgotten and friendships and relationships renewedas they fold their hands and ask for "Micchamidukadam" or forgiveness. Michchhami means to be fruitless (forgiven) and Dukkadam (Dushkrut) means bad deeds. Therefore the meaning of Michchhami Dukkadam is my bad deeds (with you) be fruitless. So concept behind saying or writing someone "Michchhami Dukkadam" is that if I have done any harm to you then those bad deeds to be forgiven (be fruitless).

PRATIKRAMAN
The soulin its pure formhas infinite perceptioninfinite knowledgeinfinite vigorand is non-attached. These attributes are not seen in a worldly soul because it is soiled with karmas. By following religious principles principals and activitieswe overcome our karmas and uplift our souls to liberation. There are various kinds of religious activitiessometimes called ritualsand among them Pratikraman is the most important ritual. During pratikraman we repent for our non-meritorious activities on a daily basis. We realize our mistakes and ask for forgiveness which helps us to minimize the intensity of the karma's bondage. Pratikraman is a combination of six avshyakas (essential rituals). The six Avshyakas are:
1) Samayik - a state of total equanimity
2) Chauvisantho - worshipping the twenty-four Tirthankars
3) Vandana - offering salutations to sadhus (monks) and sadhvis (nuns)
4) Pratikraman - realizing what we have done wrong and annotating on it
5) Kayotsagga - meditation of the soul
6) Pratyakhyan - renunciation

1) Samayik : In samayikwe stay in equanimity for forty-eight minutes. During samayik not only do we give up all worldly affairsbut we also stay away from attachment and aversion. This activity helps us to purify our passions and desires. To perform samayikwe put on simplewhite clothesand occupy a quiet place. While in samayikwe recite the Navkar Mantraread scripturesperform meditationetc. Our samayik gives us a glimpse at the life of sadhus who live in samayik all of their life. It directly encourages us to lead the life of a sadhu or sadhvi.

2) Chauvisantho :Chauvisantho means adoration of the twenty-four Tirthankaras. By reciting itwe show our respect for the twenty-four Tirthankaras. While reciting thiswe are reminded of how victorious these Jinaswho overcome inner enemies like angeregogreeddeceitetc.were and such activity also and encourages us to be like them. It is also called Chaturvinshatistava.

3) Vandana: During vandanawe bow down to monks and nuns and express our reverence to them. They are our current religious guidesand preceptors. While bowing downwe become humbleand thushelp ourselves to overcome ego and anger. It also inspires us to become like them. (If there is no monk or nun then we bow down in the North-East direction to Arihantas who are currently living far away from here.)

4) Pratikraman: Pratikraman is the combination of two wordsPra meaning return and atikraman meaning violation. Literallyit means returning from violations. As Jain householderswe are supposed to observe twelve minor vows. During Pratikraman we review our activities for any violations that may have occurred among these vows. In this waywe ask for forgiveness for our actionspurify our soulsand improve our future activities. If we have not taken these vows then we should wish that there will come a day when we can take those vows. Pratikraman is usually done twice a dayonce in the morningRaisi (morning) Pratikraman and once in the late evening Devasi (evening) Pratikraman. Those who are unable to perform daily pratikraman should do a Pakshik (fortnightly) Pratikraman. There are some who somehow can not find even that much timethey should do a Choumasi (quarterly) Pratikramanevery four months. Howeverif someone can not even do thatthen they should do Samvatsari (yearly) Pratikramanconsidered a must for every Jain. By repenting during the pratikramanyou lessen the bondage of karma to your soul and avoid committing the same sins in the future. If we do not repent for our deeds at least once a yearthen the bondage of karmas to the soul becomes severe and even harder to shed off. In all truthone should perform pratikraman as soon as one realizes he or
she has committed a sin.

5) Kayotsagga :The word kayotsargga is made up of two words Kaya meaning body and utsarga meaning to give up. Kayotsagga means to give up ones physical comfort and body movementsthus staying steadyeither in a standing or other postureand concentrating upon the true nature of the soul as being separate from the body. This is a form of meditation and by practicing pure kayotsargga we slowly gain control over our mentalverbaland physical activities.

6) Pratyakhyan: This is a formal renunciation of certain activitieswhich reduces to stops the inflow of karmas. This activity helps us to learn to control our desires and prepares us for a much bigger renunciation.

The Jain Symbol is a congregation of various symbolseach having a deeper meaning. This symbol was adopted by all sects of Jainism while commemorating the 2500th anniversary of the nirvana of Lord Mahavira.

The outline of the symbol is defined as the universe (Lok). The lower part of the symbol represents the seven hells (Naraki). The middle part of the universe contains the Earth and the planets (Manushyalok). The upper part contains the heavenly abodes (Devlok) of all the celestial beings and abode of the Siddhas (Siddhashila). Jains believe that this universe was neither created by anyonenor can it be destroyed by anyone. It may change its formbut otherwiseit has always been and will always be here.

The raised hand means stop. The word in the center of the wheel is "Ahimsa". Ahimsa means non-violence. Between these twothey remind us to stop for a minute and think twice before doing anything. This gives us a chance to scrutinize our activities to be sure that they will not hurt anyone by our wordsthoughtsor actions. We are also not supposed to ask or encourage others to take part in any harmful activity. The wheel in the hand shows that if we are not careful and ignore these warnings and carry on violent activitiesthen just as the wheel goes round and roundwe will go round and round through the cycles of birth and death.

The four arms of the swastika remind us that during the cycles of birth and death we may be born into any one of the four destinies: heavenly beingshuman beingsanimal beings(including birdsbugsand plants) and hellish beings. Our aim should be the liberation and not the rebirth. To show how we can do thisthe swastika reminds us that we should become the pillars of the four fold Jain Sanghthen only can we achieve liberation. The four pillars of the Jain Sangh are sädhussädhvisshrävaksand shrävikäs. This means that firstwe should strive to be a true shrävaks or shrävikäsand when we can overcome our social attachmentswe should renounce the worldly life and follow the path of a sädhu or sädhvi to be liberated.

The three dots above the swastika represent the three jewels of Jainism: Samyak Darshan (Right Faith)Samyak Jnan (Right Knowledge)and Samyak Charitra (Right Conduct). We should have all three: right knowledgeright faithand right conduct togetherthen only can we achieve the liberation. The right knowledge means having the knowledge that soul and body are separate and that the soulnot the body attains the salvation. The right faith means one must have faith in what is told by Jinaswho were omniscient. The right conduct means that our actions should be void of attachment and hatred.

At the very top part of the Jain Universe symbol is a small curved arc. This arc represents the abode of the Siddhas. It is known as the Siddhashila. It is the final resting place of the liberated souls. The dot represents a siddha. In order to achieve this stagea soul must destroy all attached karmas. Every living being should strive for this state of the Salvation.

MICHCHAMI DUKKADAM !!!

Thanks,

Amish Bhimani