HUBBALLI: Devotees can now have online darshan of a Jain monk who took a vow of samadhi, known as Sallekana, and has been consuming just water and fruit juice for the last 20 days. The 86-year-old saint Nemisagar is staying in Navagraha Teerth in Varur village, about 18 km from Hubballi.
After hearing about the saint's vow, several devotees started thronging the temple to take darshan. Keeping the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in mind, the mutt heads decided to arrange for an online darshan twice daily. They have launched a window on the Zoom app and devotees can see the saint in samadhi during the morning and evening.
"Saint Nemisagar has practised a strict lifestyle for 25 years and has been involved in several religious practices. For the last few days, he is only consuming water and juice once a day. As his condition is deteriorating, we have decided to minimise the numbers of visitors. Hence we decided to go for online darshan," said head of Navagraha Teertha, Gunadhanandi Maharaj.
"Sallekhana is a practice observed by Jain digambar saints during their old age. The preparation of mind and body for the samadhi beings much before. The Niyama Sallekhana begins 12 years before the samadhi where the saint stops eating several items and cuts down on food intake. It's a way to prepare oneself for samadhi. The last stage of sallekhana is known as Yama Sallekhana where the practising saints stop eating and taking water," he explained.
Here are the details to obtain darshan of the monk:
UserID: 5709887799
Password: 1008
Timings: 7 am - 8 am; 7 pm - 8 pm