HYDERABAD: This week, Jains all over the city, country and world celebrate the 8-day Maha Paryushana Parv, a festival of self-purification through fasting and sacrifice. They shun eating leafy vegetables to avoid killing micro-organisms, forego eating food in the evening, practice Pratikaman - a prayer of giving and receiving forgiveness, stop using mobile phones and television, walk barefoot and avoid travelling in vehicles. “Forgiveness offers two types of peace - peace of mind, and the possibility of new and more gratifying relationships in the future,” says Jain monk Upadhyay Sri Praveen Rishi. Forgiveness is a sign of strength, not weakness, he adds.
“They will shun lavish lifestyle by practising simple living,” informs Sampath Raj Kothari, Chairman of Shree Vardhaman Sthanakvasi Jain Shravak Sangh (SVSJSS), Secunderabad.The festival kicked off on Saturday at a function held at T-19 Towers near Sundaram Honda in Ranigunj, Secunderabad, attended by over a thousand Jains including women and children. The event will also be launched across hundreds of towns and cities in India and abroad, informed SVSJSS President Parasmal Dungarwal.Speaking at the event, Upadhyay Sri Praveen Rishi said, “We are all friends here in the Universe. There are no enemies. The ‘Raavan’ within ourselves must be destroyed. During these eight days, apart from austerity measures, don’t ask such questions as to anger other people or put them in an uncomfortable position.”
But is it possible to adhere to these extreme measures in today’s hyper-connected world? Yes, says SVSJSS PRO Manoj Kothari. The practicing Jains stay at the venue, do not take bath, consume food prepared there and meditate, listen to Guruji and pray for forgiveness and world peace. On the final day of the festival, i.e. August 26, 99 percent of Jains go on a fast, he added.“Forgiveness doesn’t mean what happened was correct. It only means that the person who hurt you is still welcome in your life, and that you have made peace with the pain and are ready to let it go. Forgiveness may not change the past, but enlarges your future. You need to forgive others not because they deserve it, but because you deserve peace. You need to forgive to clear the mind, purify the heart and cleanse the soul. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself,” adds Manoj Kothari.
At the heart of the philosophy behind Paryushana are ten universal virtues that are believed to help us purify our minds - forbearance, gentleness, uprightness, purity, truth, restraint, austerity, renunciation, lack of possessions and chastity, adds Upadhyay Sri Praveen Rishi.“Psychologists agree that forgiveness is the key to peace, health, and happiness. You can’t heal a negative action with another negative action; you need to forgive and release those hard feelings and emotions”, says Gautam Chand Golecha, a practitioner.
Workshops on Arham Parenting, Purushakar Meditation, Colour Therapy, etc. are also organised under the aegis of All India Anand Thirth Dharam Sangh by its President Swarup Chand Kothari, at T-19 Towers in Ranigunj.