Taralikaben sits on the floor of her balcony, reading a book of sacred text with much difficulty in the twilight, deliberately using no electricity. Her friend Jagshaben leaves to do the same in the temple premises with a group of ladies.
Their families are already done with their meals by 7 pm. Everyone, from the children to the elderly, visit the temple at all hours of the day, praying to the Jain tirthankars, Lord Mahavira being one of the most well known.
Believe it or not, this is a festival; Paryushan, the biggest and most important of Jain festivals that is celebrated everywhere that the community resides.
Only, instead of the glorious feasting and revelry of Durga Puja or the grandeur of Ganesh Chaturthi, Paryushan is observed as a quiet and compassionate eight days of restraint, fasting and gaining spiritual knowledge that concludes with asking of forgiveness from one and all for wrongs done over the year, intended or otherwise.
To Repent and Renew
The aim of the festival is to repent, forgive and renew – so most of the rituals are low-key and internalised. Says Acharya Hem Chandra Surisvar, a Jain monk,
‘Paryushan’ is made up of two words, par (all directions) and ushan (to burn) – and in simple terms, it means to burn or end all karmas accumulated in a person’s life; this, the Jains try to achieve through austerities like fasting, meditation, self-study and practising forgiveness towards fellow beings. It is a time for personal growth through reflection and introspection.
Lord Mahavira advocated a socio-spiritual, non-violent way of living that considers all flora and fauna as integral to the universe. He emphasised the concept of ‘aparigraha’ – that is non-possessiveness towards both material comforts and living beings – an idea that extends itself to fasting and living minimalist lives.
During Paryushan, Jains forgo food partially or completely as one of the tenets is ‘yathashakti tap’ or to do as much as one is capable of. Interestingly, several people fast for all eight days (athai), with nothing but boiled water for consumption.
To an outsider, this may look very difficult to achieve but Jains know that their religion is based on science more than ideologies.
Swati Shah, an Ahmedabad-based interior designer and a mother of two, is doing athai along with her husband Nephal this year:
Our philosophy teaches us restraint in actions and words and that helps strengthen our will power. Also, fasting is detox. We see it as purification of body, mind and soul. Of course, it is difficult to fast but it is about winning over the mind. We fast not for the gods but to test our own limitations.
Like hundred others, Swati also takes both her children to the temple for sermons (vyakhyan) by Jain monks on living a just life. The ascetics speak about the lives of the 24 tirthankaras, which is used as a blueprint of living in a contemporary world for the Jains.
We also diligently go through the ‘Kalpasutra’ which is the story of Mahavira from his birth to enlightenment, on all days of Paryushan.
“I Ask For Forgiveness For Any Wrong I Did to You”
Shweta Shah, a mother of two, says each and every member of her family, including those who live abroad, observe Paryushan amid busy schedules as it is a time to ‘begin again’.
Our children should understand why we don’t kill animals and eat them or why we say sorry to near and dear ones on the last day of Paryushan. These are guidelines they can follow even when we aren’t around. They learn how to have faith and be strong in the face of material and personal desires. In any case, good values never go out of fashion.
On the eighth day, Jains all over the world say ‘Michammi Dukaddam’ to all their near and dear ones. The term broadly means “I ask for forgiveness for any wrong I did to you, knowingly or otherwise”.
We try to live as minimalists, to control all our senses, so that includes language and food. Thus, we clean our slates.
Misinterpreted Much
People who do not follow Jainism or know little about it tend to have a rigid opinion about it, mostly stemming from the fact that so much of fasting and penance is involved. The recent brouhaha over the closure of slaughterhouses across several Indian cities during Paryushan was an instance of the misinterpretation of the philosophy.
Truth is, a large number of Jain businessmen, including NRIs, pay abbatoirs to keep shut for the week-long festival. Ankit Parikh, a teacher of Jainism from Ahmedabad, says,
One of our duties during Paryushan is ‘amari pravartan’ or advocating non violence – as all forms of life is sacred. But we know staying shut means loss of business for them, so we come to a peaceful understanding by helping them financially for 8 days of the festival. We have been doing it for years.
The calm demeanour, the peaceful tirthankars draped in flowers and chandan in the temples and the firm resolve by each member of this small community make Paryushan a unique festival.
“We are a better version of ourselves as the festival concludes,” Swati sums it up.
(Runa Mukherjee Parikh has written on women, culture, social issues, education and animals, with The Times of India, India Today and IBN Live. When not hounding for stories, she can be found petting dogs, watching sitcoms or travelling. A big believer in ‘animals come before humans’, she is currently struggling to make sense of her Bengali-Gujarati lifestyle in Ahmedabad.)
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