Other vows of Jain Muni
by Pujya Muni Sheelgun Vijayji
This is continuation from the series on Jain Sadhu. Read first part here, second part here, third part here, fourth part here, fifth part here and sixth part here
Now we will look across some rules apart from the 5 great vows of a Jain Sadhu.
1. Not consuming food after sunset:
Jain Sadhus never consume food or even drink water before sunrise and after sunset. Even the Vedas and Upanishads describe consuming food after sunset as equal to consuming meat and drinking water after sunset as equal to drinking blood.
Reason:
1. As we all experience, there is a rise in number of insects and micro organisms after sunset. The insects are free of the fear of the heat from the sun. These insects breed on our food and sometimes we even consume them without our knowledge inviting a series of infections and diseases. For example, if a fly enters our stomach, we start vomiting, if a lizard is consumed, the venom is spreads all over our body finally resulting in death. Let me tell you a real story.
In Mumbai, a woman went to a Pani-Puri stall at night 8 o clock. She had Pani-Puri and when she reached home, she felt uneasy. When her husband came to see what is wrong with her, he was shocked. A series of worms were coming out of her body from different places. And she died on the spot. Postmortem reports revealed that she had consumed a worm along with Pani-Puri because the worm was not visible. And many worms took birth in her stomach and came out of her body. Many more similar examples are available.
2. When the sun rises, the stomach tissues activate themselves. Like how a Lotus blooms on the sun’s rays, likewise the stomach tissues also blossom. During forenoon, the cells blossom to the fullest and that is why Jain Sadhus consume food during that time. When the cells are fully blossomed, the food consumed is digested systematically. The underlying cause of all diseases — indigestion — is no longer a problem. The diseases related to Gall Bladder, related to breathing and cough, all are caused by indigestion.
The tissues are dormant during the night and when food is consumed during that time, it is not totally digested which invites diseases. People are only interested in what the tongue wants and not interested as to how and what the stomach needs — thus inviting diseases like cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc.
Recently, bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar who is a fitness icon has supported the idea of eating before sunset and urged the people to practice the same to stay healthy.
To escape from diseases, Jain Sadhus finish the food received in Bhiksha the same day and do not worry about tomorrow. If anything is stored for the night, there can be chances of Sadhus wanting to eat. So, they do not keep anything for the night. But, for those who are not Sadhus and have families and business, this is not possible. So, they have to have control on themselves.
The nature is closely synced with the activity of Sun - blossoming of flowers, etc.. Likewise, food consumption should also be matched with sunrise and sunset.
2. Penance (Tapasya):
A. Penance basically means giving up worldly pleasures in an act of self-denial. Jain Sadhus perform penance in their everyday life. There are even instances where Sadhus fast for 180 days — complete abstinence of food and only surviving on water. All Sadhus undertake penance according to their capacity. Recently, a Jain Sadhu fasted for 1200 days in a period of 1500 days. Everybody knows how difficult it is to remain without food. But, Jain Sadhus perform penance with pleasure.
B. There are also rules that say that we should eat 5–10% lesser than our actual capacity, called ‘Unodari’.
C. Jain Sadhus eat only limited number of food items. They consume only 4–5 items in total and spend their day. This asceticism is called ‘Dravya Sankshep’ or ‘compromise of substances’.
D. The dedication of a Sadhu to his Guru is more than how much a son is dedicated to his parents. Whenever somebody in their group is ill, the Sadhus gets ready and are capable of serving them to any extent. This practice is called ‘Veyyavach’. It is also a kind of asceticism.
E. Jain Sadhu does not use electricity, so they do not read at night. They study only during 9 hours in the day and recall everything in the night time. In total, they study and revise for 12 hours a day and sleep for restricted 6 hours. The remaining 6 hours are utilized for mediation, eating food, travelling, etc. This is subject to changes according to the situation.
3. Svadhyay (Reading and revising):
Knowledge is of paramount importance. This is the reason that Sadhus study 12 hours a day. The most important text of Jainism are the 45 Aagam. These scriptures contain information relating to everything in this world. Before 2500 years, Lord Mahaveer propagated the idea of life in vegetation which Jagdishchandra Bose proved in 1950s-1960s. So many other ideas were already propagated by Lord Mahaveer which are now proved.
The one and only goal of a Jain Sadhu is attaining Moksha meaning salvation. And salvation is attained from absolute knowledge. Their daily schedule is directed towards gaining absolute knowledge and having a sound sleep at night.
We only described some parts of a life of a Jain Sadhu. It is impossible to fully describe the life of a sadhu, it needs to be experienced. It is a great fortune to have come in contact with a sadhu.
This concludes the series on Jain Sadhu. How did you like this post and the series? Please leave your comments.
If you have any questions or topics that you wish to learn more about, do leave a comment and we will try address them in future posts
If you dont want to miss a new post, please remember to click on “Follow” below to follow the publication “Muni Speaks” and get notified with the latest post.
