Paryushan / Das Lakshan is a religious
festival that Jains celebrate with a great enthusiasm. It is marked by ten days
of religious festivities in which each day is devoted to one virtue or
dharma. Many of us view it as a period to recharge our spiritual side, in which
we devote time in the temple doing worships, fasts, and listening to spiritual
discourses.
However, the ten virtues that are central to this festival give us much
more than religious and moral values. In this post, I will try to outline a different way of looking at Paryushan by taking
a few of these virtues as example. If we use this new
paradigm, we find that these virtues have solid practical advice hidden in
them that has relevance in our daily life. Even if we try to understand and
practice one of these virtues in real life situations, it has a
potential of changing our life for better.
- उत्तम क्षमा / Uttam Chama
- उत्तम मार्दव / Uttam Mardav
- उत्तम आर्जव / Uttam Aarjav
- उत्तम शौच / Uttam Shauch
- उत्तम सत्य / Uttam Satya
- उत्तम संयम / Uttam Sanyam
- उत्तम तप - Uttam Tap
- उत्तम त्याग / Uttam Tyaag
- उत्तम अकिंचन्य / Uttam Akinchanya
- उत्तम ब्रहमचर्य / Uttam Brahamacharya
Uttam Kshama – Forgiveness
When someone hurts us, we should be quick to forgive him,
and if we hurt someone, we should come forward and apologize. This is
established as one of the most fundamental way of improving inter-personal
relationships. Most common cause of a broken relationship is the lack of
forgiveness. Hence, it makes a perfect practical sense to adopt forgiveness as
a way of life and be more tolerant towards the fault of others. However, it
goes a little further and urges you to be equally tolerant towards your own
flaws as well. When your own actions do not measure up to your standards, do
not be too harsh in your judgment. Accept your own mistakes with the same feeling of forgiveness as you
accept others.
Uttam Mardav – Humility and Modesty
All of us are created equal; no one is inferior or superior.
If we start treating others with humility, it will pave the way for a much
better society. The principle is simple to understand, but not easy to practice.
People either tend to treat others as inferior or superior to them most of the
times. This is of significant practical value as getting rid of your pride can
help you relate much better to others and win you many friends.
Uttam Arjav – Integrity
If one lacks integrity, he will think one thing, speak
something else and do something entirely different. Such a person loses
credibility very quickly. On the contrary if we want to win the trust of
others, we have to practice integrity. Say as you think, and do as you say.
This is not just a great moral value, but most successful companies are
adopting it as corporate value these days. Without integrity and trust, it is hard
to do business, and even harder to establish a long lasting relationship.
Uttam Shauch – Purity and Contentment
While we talk about purity here, it is not only the purity
of body that can be achieved by cleanliness, but purity of soul, that requires us to be content. There is no end of desires, and if we are not content
with what we have, it leads to unhappiness in life.
Uttam Satya – Truth
The benefits of being truthful are very well known. It has
such an impact on our life and happiness. Gandhiji also gave a lot of stress on
being truthful. It also implies that we should always seek the truth. However, this
principle goes a bit further and asks us to not only speak truth, but also
ensure that we do not hurt others by saying harsh words to them. With the rampant menace of fake news, it has become vital now to apply this principle before we post anything on social media.
Uttam Sanyam – Self-regulation, and Moderation
Watch a deepak (lamp) that illuminate our house; it contains
the same fire that can cause devastation if left uncontrolled, but when this
fire is carefully regulated in the lamp, it gives us light. In the same way,
when we harness or channelize our energies in a positive way, it becomes a
constructive force that moves our world. If we do not, it will cause negative
impact on our lives. To channelize our energies, we must exercise self-control or sanyam that ensures that the fire does not get an uncontrolled supply of
fuel and get out of control. This is a very practical argument in favor of
living a disciplined, purposeful life.
Uttam Tap - Reducing Indulgence
It is well known that over-indulgence inevitably leads to unhappiness in life. Uttam Tap aims at
reducing indulgence and keeping desires and passions in control. Some of the useful practices involved at physical level are fasting, avoiding overeating and unhealthy foods. At the spiritual level it involves meditation, which is a universally acknowledged practice to steady your mind.
Uttam Tyag - Renunciation
Uttam Tyag or renunciation works at two levels - at physical level it is about giving up worldly possessions and live a life of contentment while keeping desires in check, and at emotional level by letting go of the emotions, that can cause major stress to us. You are known not by the amount of your accumulated wealth but by the wealth you renounce for others. Renunciation is done at the highest level by saints who renounce not only the household but also all their negative emotions.
Akinchan encourages us to reduce parigraha (belongings) and
reduce our attachment towards it. It is also about avoiding excessive
consumption. While the world is grappling with the problem of how to go green
to control the damage to our environment, Akinchan shows a simple way to do
it. If all of us reduce our consumption, our belongings, our carbon footprint,
we can leave a better earth for our future generations. We need to learn how to go after less, not more. Excessive attachment to possessions causes unhappiness in our life.
Uttam Brahmacharya - Free Yourself from Senses
Uttam Brahmacharya aims at reducing our dependence on sensory gratification so that you can use your energy for higher pursuits. We can become more effective if we stop being a slave of our senses, as this allows us to do what is important for us, not just what gives us the momentary physical pleasure. The saints practice this to the highest degree with their body, speech and mind, refraining from all pleasures associated with the senses so that they can pursue their supreme goal of salvation.
I offer my advance apologies to the purists
who may not like this interpretation of Paryushan, my intent is not to temper with religion,
but to extract more practical value out of it.
