Six Daily Duties of a Jain Layman

The following article was published in July, 1948 in The Jaina Gazette, Vol. XLV (No. 7), pp. 61-62

Six Daily Duities of a Jain Layman

Every person who professes Jainism, but has not renounced the world and is what is called a 'Grihastha' or a house­holder should observe, day after day, the following six religious duties.

1. Worship of the adorable

There are five grades of worshipable human beings varying in the degrees of spiritual advance­ment which they have attained. They are called the five high-placed beings (panch-parmeshthi).

• The first among them is called an Arhat.

  Arhat literary means one who deserves worship, devotion, adora­tion. He is a human being who has attained Omniscience. He knows everything, in all its aspects, its present, past and future conditions at one and the same time. He is free from 18 defects and has evolved 46 qualities. Such a human being does not exist at the present time in the world known to us. The present cycle of time is not suitable for the existence of an Arhat. The Jains therefore install an image of an Arhat, cut out of stone or made of other metals, brass, silver, gold or several mixed metals and in some uncommon instances cut out from precious jewels like diamond, sapphire, emerald, ruby or crystal. Such an image is in the form of a human being, in an attitude of concentrated meditation, with eyes fixed on to the tip of the nose. Such an image cannot be called an idol. It is only an ideal for attainment, in a preliminary stage of spiritual advance­ment. The necessity of such an ideal dis­appears and does not exist in cases of persons in advanced spiritual stages.

  Jain worship again is not a prayer for wordly things. A Jain worshipper does not beg for, asks or even desires, as a result of his devotion any temporal benefit, such as long life, good health, physical strength, miraculous powers, wealth, goods, or other possessions, family prosperity or even a birth and long life in celestial regions. His sole ambition is to acquire Omniscience and the status of an Arhat. Prayers by a Jain devotee may be expressed in terms given below as examples.

  —"O, Lord I want nothing below your own status, pray grant me that. A donor who does not make his suppliant equal to himself deserves no praise but is to be blamed."

  —"I bow before you O, Lord with the object of evolving your own qualities".

  —"I do not beg for residence in royal palaces or in celestial regions, nor do I want a large family, temporal grandeur or a retinue of servants. All that I desireis devotion and attachment to yourself Oh Lord and nothing else."

  A real prayer is a one-pointed earnest effort and striving to attain perfection through one's own exertion. The words of prayer aim at fixation of the mind and are only a means to an end, which is Salvation, Liberation, eternal, everlasting immortality.

• The next adorable being is a Siddha.

  A Siddha a pure perfect soul bereft of every vestige of body, physical or otherwise. There are five kinds of bodies or coverings which envelope a soul.

  1. The commonest is the physical body, confined in which it is born.
     
  2. Another body is the astral which is changeable at will, in size, form, extent or power.
     
  3. The third is what may be termed electric body, which is subtle and fine beyond perception.
     
  4. The fourth is a still more subtle body which is called 'Aharak' which has been translated as assimilative. The word does not however fully convey the idea behind the word. We shall discuss it at length on some future occasion.
     
  5. The fifth and the last kind of body enveloping and assimilating itself with the soul and confining it within limits, is the karmic body, which is indescribably subtle and can only be cognized by an omniscient. An omniscient destroys and gets rid of all karmic contact forever.

  The Siddha stage is obviously and certainly a higher stage. But a Siddha is mentioned next after an Arhat. This is so, because from a seekers point of view, an Arhat in a super-physical body is accessible and more useful for his purpose than a Siddha who is beyond his reach and whom he can only imagine.

• The third adorable being is an Acharya, which means and signifies' a scholar-saint, a learned Head-preceptor of the Order of Saints.
• The fourth is a Teacher of saints, less learned and less evolved in spiritual development.
• The last adorable being is every saint, every ascetic engaged in the process of spiritual advancement, observing proper austerities, vows and penances.

2. Service of the preceptor

A religious preceptor, in the true sense of the word, is not available in the present times. There are however about a score of naked ascetic saints and several hundred robed ascetics in India. These ascetics follow the rules of their order. They deserve respect and service from the laity.

3. Self-study

Every Jain layman is expected to devote a fixed period of time, regularly and punctually to the study of Jain Religion or philosophy every day. This commandment is also observed more in form than in spirit. The majority of those who can read, feel satisfied with having done their duty by simply reading a page or so of a religious book, without bestowing thought on it. And the majority of those who cannot read, but simply listen, do so listlessly without paying due attention to what is being read or explained. It is a rare sight to find a study circle of devoted scholars with a note book.

4. Self-discipline

This consists of tem­porary vows or resolutions adopted for the day, for a week, or for a longer period to keep some or all of the 17 rules of daily conduct.

5. Austerity

This is rather hard to practise and is seldom observed.

6. Charity

Those who observe this, conform to it by simply dropping a coin every day in a charity-box. The perfor­mance of this duty means, a tangible act of service to humanity, such as active aid to a destitute, distressed, ailing, or physically incapacitated person. The present day charity ordinarily consists of erecting new temples, installation of new images, orna­mentation of places of worship, processions, feastings and shows.

It is clear from the above that in the present circumstances it is hardly possible for one to perform all the six compulsory daily duties required of a man of religion. One may, however, well begin by honestly performing as much as is possible for him. A small beginning may be made - and better results will follow.