Paryushan Parv: A spiritual path of peace and non-violence

 Lalit Garg

(The writer can be reached at lalitgarg11@gmail.com)

Everyone wants to live a life full of peace and happiness, but they can’t live this type of life. That is why, in the Jain tradition, the spiritual festival Paryushan is celebrated, which will be held this year from September 12 to September 19, 2021. In these eight days of Paryushan Mahaparv, all Jain devotees will make efforts to make the body and mind spiritual. Paryushan Parva has great importance in the lives of Jains. It’s a period in which every Jain tries to purify and elevate his soul. For this purpose, a shravak must perform the following five duties: Amari Pravartan (total non-violence), Sadharmic Bhakti (helping people of the same faith), Kshamapan (asking for forgiveness), Atham Tap (fasting for three days), and Chaitya Pari Paati (visiting local Jain temples). In eight days, a positive environment will be created, which will purify our lives. From this point of view, this festival is a festival of spirituality as well as the uplift of life.

Paryushan Mahaparva is a medium to worship the inner soul. It is the festival of self-purification and self-enlightenment. In fact, the Paryushan Mahaparva is such a dawn that takes us from sleep to wakefulness. This festival leads us from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. While doing penance, chanting, and self-study, we can find our inner strength and learn that real happiness lies in forgiving.

The literal meaning of Paryushan Mahaparva is residing in the soul. One of the meanings of Paryushana is the destruction of karma. The bad karmas will be destroyed, and only then will the soul be purified in its natural form; hence, Paryushan Mahaparva gives inspiration to the soul to become selfless and pure. This Mahaparva mainly focuses on the connection between humans and motivates them; it is the festival of opening the windows, skylights, and doors of the mind.

Paryushan Mahaparva is not just a festival for Jains; it is a universal festival. It is a great and excellent festival for the whole world because the soul is worshipped here. This is the only festival in the whole world in which a person becomes self-realised by being self-absorbed and tries to attain salvation by ascending to the peak of supernatural, spiritual bliss. The Paryushan Mahaparva has its own unique and special spiritual significance in the renunciation-oriented culture of Jainism. This is the only inspiring festival of self-purification. It is the most recognised festival of the Jain people. Paryushan Mahaparva is an occasion for many types of rituals like chanting, austerity, sadhna, worship, meditation, food restraints, etc.

Paryushan Mahaparva is a spiritual festival, and the central element of it is the soul. Paryushan Mahaparva continues to play an important role in revealing the pure, luminous form of the soul. Adhyatma means closeness to the soul. Paryushan Mahaparva is the symbol of Jain unity. Jain people give utmost importance to it. The entire Jain society becomes awake and engaged in spiritual practice on the occasion of this festival. In the Digambara tradition, it is recognised as “Daslakshana Parva”. Among them, its opening day is Bhadrav Shukla Panchami, and the day of prosperity is Chaturdashi. On the other hand, in the Shwetambar Jain tradition, the day of Bhadrav Shukla Panchami is the day of Samadhi, which is celebrated as Samvatsari with complete renunciation, fasting, self-study, and abstinence. Even people who are unable to take time out during the year also wake up on this day. Even those who never fast are seen performing rituals on this day.

The theme of Paryushan Mahaparva is to destroy all the evil thoughts of mind and soul. The 10 gates of religion have been mentioned, and the first door is forgiveness. Forgiveness means equality. Forgiveness is very important for life, unless there is no forgiveness in life, and then a person cannot progress on the path of spirituality. Lord Mahavir lived a life of forgiveness, i.e., equality. No matter what the situation may have been, he remained equal in all circumstances. “Forgiveness is the jewel of the hero.” Only great people can take and give forgiveness. Paryushan Mahaparva is a celebration of the exchange of forgiveness. On this day, everyone unravels the entangled glands of their mind, opens the knots of anger and hatred within them, and they hug each other. Eliminate the mistakes made in the past through forgiveness and make life pure.

The end of Paryushan Mahaparva is celebrated as Forgiveness Day. In this way, Paryushan Mahaparva and Forgiveness Day are festivals to bring each other closer. It is a festival to consider each other as our own. It is also said in the Gita: “Atmoupamyen sarvatrah, same pashyati yorjuna; “Shri Krishna said to Arjuna, O Arjuna! Treat humans as equals. Lord Mahavira said, “Mitti mai Savva bhuesu, veranmjjhana kenai.” I have friendship with all beings; I have no enmity with anyone.

Human unity, peaceful co-existence, friendship, socialism without exploitation, establishment of international moral values, non-violent life, support of the worship style of the soul, etc. are the main basis of Paryushan Mahaparva. From this point of view, efforts are expected to make this great festival a festival of the people. Whether a man is called religious or not, whether he believes in self-Parmatma or not, whether he believes in past birth and reincarnation, or whether he should resort to non-violence as far as possible in solving any of his problems—this is the heart of the sadhna of Payushan. Violence cannot be a permanent solution to any problem. Those seeking a solution through violence have only exacerbated the problem. Keeping this fact in mind, not only the Jain society but also the common people should become faithful to the power of non-violence and use it with deep faith.

Paryushan is a festival of pleasure in the soul, a festival of self-purification and self-enhancement. This Mahaparva makes us ego-free. This Mahaparva is a celebration of the worship of non-violence. Today, the whole world needs non-violence and friendship. Paryushan Parv is a festival of destruction of all negative aspects of the soul, and through this one can find the real meaning of life. Each day of the Parysuhan festival focuses on eliminating various impurities like anger, pride, deceit, and greed and building good virtues.

Today, the main problems like violence, terror, mutual hatred, naxalism, corruption, and the corona epidemic have become a big cause of concern not only for the country but for the world, and everyone wants a solution to these problems. For those people, the festival of Paryushan is an inspiration, a path, guidance, and a practice of a non-violent lifestyle. Today, in the glare of materiality, it is more important to maintain the relevance of this festival in the blind race of running life. For this, Jain society should become sensitive; especially the younger generation should be aware of the value of the Paryushan festival, and they themselves should benefit from these rare moments of awakening self-consciousness through sharing, silence, chanting, meditation, self-study, dietary restraint, sense control, life-day, etc., and explore the pure essence of this auspicious festival in front of the people.