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The message of Jina, Lord Mahandauml;vira the last Tirthankara, is carried by the Acharya, our spiritual leaders. The responsibility of the spiritual welfare of the entire Jain Sangh rests on the shoulders of the Acharyas. Before reaching this state, one has to do an in-depth study and have a thorough mastery of the Jain Agams. In addition to acquiring a high level of spiritual excellence, they also have the ability to lead the monastic communion. They should also know the various languages of the country and have acquired a sound knowledge of other philosophies, ideologies, and religions of the region and the world.
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Upadhyaya
This title is given to those Sandauml;dhus who have acquired a special knowledge of the Agams (Jain scriptures) and philosophical systems. They teach Jain scriptures to deserving aspirants, including sandauml;dhus and sandauml;dhvis.
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Muni
A male person who renounces the worldly life is called a monk or sandauml;dhu, and a female is called a nun or sadhvi. When householders become detached from the worldly aspects of life and aspire for spiritual uplift, they renounce their worldly lives and become Sandauml;dhus or Sandauml;dhvis, by accepting Deekshandauml;. Before such initiation, they must stay with Sandauml;dhus or Sandauml;dhvis for a period of time to understand religious studies and to observe the code of conduct for renounced life. When they feel confident, they request an andAuml;chandauml;rya to initiate them into the renounced order. If the andAuml;chandauml;rya feels that they have the desire and capability to face the rigors of renounced life, then he gives them Deekshandauml;. At the time of Deekshandauml;, the newly initiated sadhu or sadhvi adopts five major vows: Observance of Ahimsa (non-violence)-not to commit any type of violence (Savvao Panaivayao Virman Vrat) Observance of Satya (truth)-not to indulge in any type of lie or falsehood (Savvao Musavayao Virman Vrat) Observance of Asteya (non-stealing)-not to take anything unless it is given by the owner (Savvao Aadinnadanao Virman Vrat) Observance of Brahamcharya (celibacy)-not to indulge in any sensual pleasure (Savvao Mehunao Virman Vrat) Observance of Aparigraha (non-possessiveness)-not to acquire more than what is needed to maintain day to day life (Savvao Pariggrahao Virman Vrat) Some of the special things they observe are they do not accept the food cooked for them. They do not eat before sunrise or after sunset. They drink only boiled water. They walk bare feet. They do not stay in one place for a longer time. They do not touch any person of opposite sex. They do not get involved in social affairs there by meaning they are not a social workers. All nuns wear white clothes. They offer spiritual guidance to us. Their goal to become is to be liberated from this worldly life and that is why their activities are directed towards uplift of their souls to Paramandauml;tman (the state of liberation). Self-discipline and purity is the main part of their daily lives.
Buddha embarked his spiritual journey as a Digamabara (Naked Monk):
Yes, I am referring to the same Gautham Buddha of Sixth Century BC, who founded the religion Buddhism. It is interesting to know that he began his spiritual life (at the age of 29 years) as a Digambar muni (Naked Monk) with two teachers Alara and Uddaka (again both are Digambar munis) at Vaisali.
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In the Buddhist scripture Majjima Nikaya, Buddha himself tells us about his ascetic life and its ordinances which are in conformity with the Jain muni's code of conduct. He says, andquot;Thus far, SariPutta, did I go in my penance. I went without clothes. I licked my food from my hands. I took no food that was brought or meant especially for me. I accepted no invitation to a meal.andquot; (An extract from the interaction of Buddha with his chief disciple Sariputta)
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Buddha's uncle was also a Digamabara (Naked Monk):
Attakatha of Anguttara Nikaya has reference to Boppa Sakya a resident of Kapilvastu who was the uncle of Buddha and who followed the religion of the Nigganathas i.e. Jains.
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Buddha ends his 6 years of Digambara (Naked Monk) life:
One day, a peasant girl named Sujata saw starving naked monk Siddhartha (Buddha) and took pity on him. She begged him to eat some of her food. Siddhartha then realized that these extreme practices (as Digamabar muni) were leading him nowhere, that in fact it might be better to find some middle way between the extremes of the life of luxury and the life of self-mortification. So he ate, and drank, and bathed in the river. After seeing this change in Siddhartha, Five naked monks who accompanied him earlier, decided to quit his company.
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Budddha's intention was not to find a new religion:
It is extremely clear that Buddha was in search of a life which is free from sorrow. He never wanted to find a new religion. Initially he thought that the Digambar way of life is going to provide answers to his queries, but later he felt it as an extreme path of living. Thus he defined an intermediate path between the already existing andquot;Jainismandquot; and andquot;Hinduismandquot;
During our four-month trip in India this year, my husband and I stopped in Khajuraho to visit the Erotic Temples. While there, we heard of a small village, Kundalpur, where hundreds of Jain Monks gather in a two-day festival to celebrate fifty women becoming Jain mothers.
We left with a local Jain couple and their family to take part in the festival. Kundalpur turned out to be a very enriching and deeply spiritual experience. It changed our perception of Jainism a Indian religion forever.Among the group of temples, there is one, which is a Jain temple where we were told that a Skyclad Jain monk just left the place a few days earlier.
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Not knowing what a Skyclad Jain Monk is exactly, I asked my husband. andquot;They are the Naked Monks.andquot; He said.
Mike and I became curious about the Naked Jain Monks. Back at the hotel, we asked where we could go to see these monks. We were told to talk to the Jain family who owned The Jain Hotel next door. The family turned out to be very friendly. The father insisted we go to Kundalpur with his son and daughter-in-law for the festival.
The following day, we joined the Jain couple in a two-day excursion to the Jain temples that sheltered the Skyclad Monks. Along the way, I had the opportunity to ask the Jain couple questions about their religion, Indian costumes and Indian cooking recipes. They are enlightened gurus who preach how to live a proper life. Gurus are well respected and are considered saints who know all the answers.
We arrived at Kundalpur around three o'clock in the afternoon. We were shocked to see thousands of cars parked in the fields nearby. There was hardly any place left.Kundalpur is a religious pilgrimage destination, formed exclusively of Jain temples built on the surrounding hills. The place has a divine and peaceful feeling to it. The white temples are connected through paths which Jains pilgrims follow to go from one temple to another.
Immediately after we arrived, we joined the ceremony where fifty women embraced the Jain mother positions. They swore celibacy and renounced possessions. The ceremony took place in a huge tent, filled with thousands of Jain followers. Being the only foreigners, Mike and I attracted a lot of attention. It was nearly impossible to sneak into the front seats and watch the ceremony, but the people made a huge effort to let us pass through to watch up-close.
We sat on the ground and were told to be quiet. I couldn't understand the language, but as I watched closely, I noticed that the Jain Mothers were wearing white saris and the part of the sari covering their heads had blood spots. The Jain Monks and Mothers had shaved heads. We were later told that they use their own hands to pull their hair out.
There were probably about eighty Naked Jain Monks sitting on benches. To the left, fifty sat down on the stage. Their guru Aacharya Vidya Sagar Ji Maharaj was on a big wooden chair at the right end of the stage. He is the best known of the modern Digambar Jain Acharyas.
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He spoke through a microphone with each Jain Mother who would be called to approach another microphone positioned not far from him. They would engage in a conversation. The crowd listened carefully and laughed from time to time. The guru must have had a great sense of humor. I believe this was the time when each Jain Mother fully embraced her position.
After an hour of watching and taking pictures, we walked inside the main temple. We spent the next couple of hours visiting a few temples. We climbed to the top of the hill to see the Bade Baba statue, which represents Lord Adinath, the first Jain to reach enlightenment.
At six o'clock we stepped into the cafeteria. A free dinner was served to hundreds of people. We were told they would soon stop serving due to the temple's religious costumes. After dinner, we went back to the room to sleep. We were going to wake up early to take part in the praying temple circuit.
In Kundalpur, prayers are performed before sunrise. That is when everybody starts climbing the stairs to the first temple in the sequence. There are approximately sixty four Jain temples.
Around noontime, we arrived back where we started - at the main temple in the valley. We saw the Naked Jain Monks sitting inside a large open-air room around their guru Aacharya Vidya Sagar Ji Maharaj. The Jain Mothers surrounded the Naked Monks. They formed a beautiful circle of naked brown skin- men and women in white saris. We later learned that this was the time when each Mother adopted a new name given by the Jain Guru.
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At the end of the ceremony, the monks were free to move around inside the main temple. At this point they returned to their rooms, where they received Jain people to ask them for advice or post religious questions. Mike and I engaged in conversations with a couple of Monks who spoke very good English. We were so surprised to find out that most of the Skyclad Monks give up a prosperous life, renounce all possessions and enter a celibate life. The Jain Monks held well-paid positions, such as software engineers, doctors, accountants, stockbrokers, etc. We also found out the Jain Mothers were highly educated as well.
Not being able to find happiness and peace of mind through hard work and success, the Jain Monks and Mothers aspire to a life where they find the answers they are looking for.
andquot;Are you happy leaving your life in this manner?andquot; I asked one of them. andquot;Yes and with each moment my happiness increases more,andquot; he said.
The Skyclad Monks spend their entire life moving around in India, mainly in small towns. They never wear clothes, they never use transportation, and they walk around naked from town to town. Their mission is to preach the Jain religion and help those in need.
They always carry a pinchi, a small broom and a kamandalu, a water pot. The broom is made out of peacock feathers and is used to wipe the ground wherever they will seat so they don't kill any small animals or insects that happen to be in the way.
Digambara is the name of the Skyclad Monks sect. They never wear clothes also because they are not supposed to have links with regular daily life. They renounce their possessions to embrace a strictly religious life.
I was stunned to learn why the Monks and Mothers refer to themselves as saints. The Jain Indians respect their saints and always bow to them. They are never supposed to be in the way of a Monk or a Mother walking by, and they are never to touch them. They can only touch their feet when they are allowed, a sign of being blessed.
The Monks and the Mothers eat once a day, at noon, and are only serrved by Jain followers. At lunchtime, the Jain families arrange themselves in groups and entice the Monks and the Mothers to choose them as food providers. When the Monk or the Mother make a choice, they retreat to a quiet place to begin the feeding ceremony. The Monks will only eat standing up. They extend their hands for small portions.
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We later came to know that their guru Aacharya Vidya Sagar Ji Maharaj have food without Sugar and Salt, And he does not have even green vegetables and fruits also.
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Since we are a different religion, our place was not among the Jains, but the Indian people treated Mike and I with respect and at times with too much attention. Our stay in Kundalpur turned out to be overwhelming and we were thankful to have learnt so much about the Jain religion in only two days. Our wish to see the Skyclad Monks came true.
Back in Khajuraho, my husband and I were too flabbergasted to care to chat with other foreigners. We realized we cherished a very special experience and we were thankful to the Jain couple who brought us to Kundalpur.
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