Life Of Digmbar Jain Saint

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text, "Life Of Digambar Jain Saint" by Jayantilal Jain, focusing on the Digambar tradition:

The book "Life Of Digambar Jain Saint" by Jayantilal Jain, published by Jayantilal Jain, offers an in-depth exploration of the disciplined and spiritually dedicated life of a Digambar Jain saint. These saints, also known as Munis or monks, devote their lives to achieving spiritual purity and enlightenment through strict adherence to non-violence towards all living beings and the renunciation of worldly possessions. Their path is dedicated to attaining Moksha, liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

The text outlines a rigorous framework of practices that govern a Jain saint's existence, categorized into basic, daily, and special practices.

Basic Practices: These foundational practices are observed at all times and comprise 28 key elements:

• Five Complete Vows: These are fundamental to a saint's conduct in mind, body, and speech and include:

  1. Non-violence (Ahimsa): The paramount vow, extending to all forms of life.
  2. Truth (Satya): Absolute adherence to truth.
  3. Non-stealing (Asteya): Not taking anything that is not freely given.
  4. Celibacy (Brahmacharya): Complete abstinence from sensual indulgence.
  5. Renunciation of Possessions/Attachments (Aparigraha): Detachment from all worldly things and desires.

• Five Carefulness (Samitis): These practices are implemented to prevent harm to living beings in daily activities:

  1. Carefulness in Walking: To avoid treading on insects.
  2. Carefulness in Speech: Speaking only when necessary and in a gentle manner.
  3. Carefulness in Scrutiny of Food: Ensuring food is pure and free from harm to life.
  4. Carefulness in Sitting and Picking/Placing Things: To avoid disturbing or harming small creatures.
  5. Carefulness in Disposal of Excretions: Ensuring no harm is caused to life.

• Control over Five Senses: Saints actively control the desires of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing to prevent attachments and aversions that lead to karmic bondage.

• Six Daily Essentials (Nitya-kriya): These practices connect the saint to their soul throughout the day:

  1. Practice of equanimity and bowing to the five supreme souls (Arhants, Siddhas, Acharyas, Upadhyayas, Sadhus) three times daily.
  2. Recitation of eulogies in praise of the 24 Great Omniscient Preachers (Tirthankaras).
  3. Veneration to a Great Preacher (Acharya).
  4. Confessing and rectifying wrong activities of mind, speech, and body.
  5. Giving up undesirable passions (kashayas).
  6. Contemplating the true nature of the pure soul.

• Seven Primary Virtues (Vows of Monks): These are practices that differentiate the soul from the body and emphasize detachment:

  1. Plucking hair: Self-plucking of hair, moustaches, and beard to signify detachment from the body.
  2. Renouncing all possessions, including clothes: To avoid attachment to material items.
  3. Renouncing bathing: To practice non-violence even to microorganisms in water.
  4. Short sleep on hard ground/wooden plank: Maximizing time for spiritual pursuits.
  5. Not brushing teeth: To avoid excessive focus on physical cleanliness.
  6. Taking food in palms while standing: Avoiding cutlery as a possession and practicing detachment.
  7. Single diet (once a day): To maintain basic bodily functions while focusing on spiritual goals.

Beyond these 28 basic practices, saints also observe secondary practices, including 12 austerities and forbearance of 22 afflictions. They can be categorized based on the purity of their conduct and austerities, with potential for 18,000 kinds of good conduct and adherence to 8.4 million secondary virtues.

Daily Practices: A saint's day is meticulously structured:

• Early Morning (before sunrise): Waking early for self-study, recitation of mantras and hymns, bowing to supreme souls and the head of saints, scriptural studies, meditation, and confession of transgressions. This concludes their vow of night stay.
• After Sunrise: Equanimity practice, devotion to Jain idols and supreme souls, meditation, veneration to the head of saints, and further scriptural studies.
• Food: Saints seek food only with proper permission and after the due process of invitation and devotion. They consume food once a day, renouncing it until the next day with specific recitations. After eating, they may accept additional vows or perform penance.
• Afternoon: Further scriptural studies, penance, purification from daily defects, and resolve for the night.
• Pre-night (after sunset): More studies, concluding before midnight. Sleep is limited to a maximum of 96 minutes for necessary rest.

The daily schedule involves 28 detached meditational postures, encompassing studies, devotion to idols and supreme souls, devotional meditation on liberated souls, confession, adoration of Lord Mahaveer, and hymns of sages.

Special Practices: In addition to their routine, saints engage in specific practices:

• Possessions: Limited to a "Pichhi" (a broom-like object made of peacock feathers for gently moving insects) and a "Kamandal" (a vessel for sterilized water). They may borrow scriptures for knowledge.
• Detachment from Householders:
  • Living and moving in groups.
  • Avoiding prolonged stays in one place, often residing in solitary locations, except during the four-month rainy season to protect small beings.
  • Addressing family members and acquaintances impersonally.
  • Walking barefoot and not using vehicles.
• Observances: Special recitations on Jain festivals, abstaining from speaking at night, and rigorous scrutiny of food for any defects.
• Food and Water: Intake is restricted, serving not for health but for self-study, restraint, and meditation. Saints may undertake prolonged fasts.
• Spiritual Virtues: Observing ten virtues like forgiveness, modesty, truth, restraint, austerity, non-attachment, and celibacy.
• Contemplations: Reflecting on twelve contemplations for detachment and sixteen causative factors for liberation. They also strive to give up 37,500 types of lethargy.
• Supernatural Powers: In rare instances, intense austerities can lead to the attainment of supernatural powers.

End of Life: Saints strive for a "prudent/holy death" (Santhara/Sallekhana), planning to leave their bodies without attachment. This involves a gradual process of giving up food and drinks. Through these practices, some saints achieve Omniscience and Moksha in this life, while others may attain it in future births if their practices are followed completely.

The book concludes by noting that hundreds of saints currently follow these practices in India with minor variations and refers to seminal Jain texts for further details. The work is presented by Professor Jayanti Lal Jain, Director of the Center of Philosophical Sciences at Mangalayatan University, Aligarh.