Pristine Jainism : Flouting of Basic Tenets

It is really amusing to see devotees dancing feverishly and carelessly, singing loudly during worship and other rituals (various vidhans). This activity not only inadvertently harms small creatures ants etc. and causes noise pollution, disturb silent meditators but also violates the prescribed code of conduct. The conduct rules by and large ordain abstention from sensuous pleasures of five senses of touch, taste smell, vision and hearing. The rational path of religion (Dharma) is a continuous war against sensuous temptations to an ultimate victory over them and it is the origin of the word Jin or "Jain" i.e. victorious. Dance gives sensuous pleasure to the sense of vision and music and song to the sense of hearing. It is surprising that devotees adopt the path of sensuousness even in religious activity. The argument generally advanced is that all this is legitimate in devotion (Bhakti). As a matter of fact Bhakti does not give licence to flout basic tenets. It is wrong to justify bad means even for any good or pious purpose. Through vicissitudes of history there have been compulsions for saints to copy and adopt various practices of different sects to satisfy a common lay man who is not learned and does not know higher forms of meditation. Such people who constitute majority are generally attracted by mundane rituals like worship, festivities etc. There was possibility and it has happened that many Jains got swayed away and drifted to other sects. However, the earlier saints were cautions and gave connotations to rituals of worship etc within the parameters of Jain tenets. Whatever may be the genesis of rituals and their relevance in a particular situation at some point or period of time these should not be perpetuated because they suppress the basic tenets of Jainism, which centre round good deeds and conduct. Christianity, Islam and Sikhism came much later than prevedic Jainism, yet they spread far wider with several times larger following than Jainism. These religions did not succumb to tenets and rituals of others, Jainism had continuously compromised and as of now is more vaishnavite and Vedic than Jain. It is necessary to examine the epistemology of all rituals, abandon them or modify them according to the fundamental concepts of Jainism. It is unfortunate that the modern pseudo-saints are adopting and copying the rituals from other sects as such. These saints from brahmanical background have introduced "Navratra" of shakti (Durga) cult as such and even sweets are offered to Padmati Idol and distributed to devotees in night. In Jainism even rational (Samyaktvi) householder is on a higher pedestal than these gods and goddesses, the Kshetrapals, Padmavatis etc. Saints are on a much higher pedestal. Saints worshipping and decorating such inferior beings is really a travesty. The very identity of Jainism, its rationality is being obliterated systematically by these pseudo saints.