Jain community like other communities throughout the world celebrates many social and religious functions annually. The most prominent and important Jain festival popularly known as ‘Paryushan Parva’ is organized every year between August and September time frame. Two popular components of this festival; Paryushan Parva and Das Lakshan Parvaare in vogue and Jains throughout the world over an 18-day period Paryushan (8 days) and Das Lakshan (10 days) celebrate these festivals. The mode of performance and aims of both the festivals are the same.

Origin of most of the festivals in the world are generally to celebrate- a) an historic event (such as July 4^th Independence Day celebration event or Victory Day Celebration to commemorate the end of World War II), b) celebration of birthday of some important person such as October 2^nd as Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, Christmas Day, c) to pay tributes to or to recognize the contributions of some groups or persons such as Labor Day, Memorial Day, Thanks Giving Day etc.

In Most of these festivals, there is pomp, show, lighting, fireworks, decorations, dancing, gifts and presents, ceremonies, parades, tributes, merrymaking, drinking and eating etc. But the Jain festival of Paryushans are based on spiritual purification to attain its pure state. Thus, in reality, they aim at self-improvement. The emphasis here is on giving up things and vices, on self-discipline and controlling the wants and desires through fasting and other ascetic practices.  The underlying idea of these festivals and their interpretation is that it is a celebration through which the karmic (deed) matter attached to the soul is totally burnt or vanquished Truly these are the festivals of self-purification.

Paryushan is a period of sincere and deep contemplation, meditation, spiritual studies, atonement, asking forgiveness, dialog of the self with the self ( aatmaa kee baat aatmaa se), fasting and taking a personal stock of the whole year what, where and why I as an individual resorted to hurt and to violence (mentally, verbally and physically) to others around me with whom I came in contact in my life. Men, women and children as well as monks and nuns undertake fasts with varying strictness.  They celebrate ten best characteristics of the soul. These can also be called Ten Commandments of Jains. 

1. FORGIVENESS (KSHAMA) – Total lack of anger. 
2. HUMILITY (MARDAVA) – Lack of pride. 
3. STRAIGHT FORWARDNESS (ARJAVA) – Lack of cunningness. 
4. CONTENTMENT (SAUCH) – Lack of greed. 
5. TRUTHFULNESS (SATYA) – Lack of falsehood. 
6. SELF-CONTROL (SAYAMA) – Control over physical violence. 
7. AUSTERITY (TAPPA) –      Repentance of one’s sins. 
8. RENUNCIATION (TYAGA) – Giving up possessions both internal and external.
9. DETACHMENT (APARIGRAHA) – Lack of attachment. 
10. CELIBACY (BRAHMACHARYA). Control of sensual desires and equal respects to both genders.  

The festival ordains the Jains to observe the above mentioned ten universal supreme virtues in daily practical life. Besides assuring a blissful existence in this world and the other world for every living being, it aims at the attainment of salvation – the supreme ideal for mundane soul.

On the last day of Paryushan and Das Lakshan, members of Jain community greet each other and ask forgiveness for any pain that might have been caused knowingly or unknowingly by any of their actions during the past year. Those members of the Jain community who undertake complete fast during the festival days are taken to the temple in a procession on the last day after which they break the fast.

The non-Jains also express high reverence for this Jain festival. All members of Jain community high and low, young and old, and males and females, participate with full vigor and zeal in the various religious rituals and cultural programs. They listen with rapt attention to the holy sermons of the saints and learned Jain scholars arranged during the eighteen-day festival. In these celebrations, Jains contemplate on the wellbeing, peace and happiness of the common man/woman. On the eve of this festival all activities, which add to social discord or bitterness are declared taboo from the temple pulpits. These celebrations harbinger social harmony and amity and preach the lofty Jain motto ‘Live and help others to live’.

ASKING FORGIVENESS

On the last day, each person asks for forgiveness from those who have been so hurt and also grants forgiveness to those who might have done wrong to him/her as a person. This is a sincere attempt (without the support and help of anyone else) and is done unconditionally with the family members, friends, relatives, servants, enemies and co-workers. The sounds of michchhami Dukkhadam and Uttam Kshama (I seek and grant forgiveness) reverberate within the entire Jain community. 

There are several great aphorisms (Sutras) to ask for forgiveness with the unity of the body, speech and mind, and the following two most common ones are:

Khämemi Savve Jivä, Savve Jivä Khamantu Mi, Mitti Me Savva bhuesu, Veram majjham na Kenai.

Meaning: I forgive all the living beings of the universe, and may all the living-beings forgive me for my faults. I do not have any animosity towards anybody, and I have friendship for all living beings.

Jam jam manen vaddham, jam jam vaayen bhaasiyam paavam, Jam jam kaayen kadam, tas michchhaami dukkdadam

Meaning; whenever and wherever I have thought of ill of others, spoken bad words and harmed any one physically, I sincerely ask for forgiveness from them. 

The process of shedding our karmas (deeds) really begins by asking for forgiveness with true feelings, and to take some vows not to repeat mistakes. The quality of the forgiveness requires humility (vinay – absence of ego) and suppression of anger. Therefore, the real purpose of the Paryushan is to purify our soul by staying closer to our own soul, to look at our own faults, to ask for forgiveness for the mistakes we have committed, and to take vows to minimize our faults. We try to forget about the needs of our body (like food) and our business so that we can concentrate on our-self. 

Paryushan Parva gives expression to the perfectly purified trait of the soul, through which one gets rid of worldly discords and allurements and one gets fully absorbed in the eternal truth on experiencing and realizing the true nature of soul. In other words, we can say that the natural realization of the trio ‘the True, the Good and the Beautiful’ is fully possible only through Paryushan. 

This festival puts an end to all evils in man/woman; gives him/her realization of the eternal bliss, and spiritualism becomes alive by the celebration of this festival.

Paryushan Parva is a grand Jain festival of self-introspection, self-enlightenment and self-achievement, which ultimately leads to the one and only one final goal, i.e., liberation or salvation.

Dr. Sulekh C. Jain lives in Henderson, NV and is the cofounder of International School for Jain Studies. Previously, he served as President of the Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA). He can be reached at scjainphd@gmail.com

Dr. Jain also authored the book An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide, which can be accessed free at www.isjs.in