View source for Diwali/ Deepavali: Jain

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[[Category:India |D ]]
[[Category:Religion |D ]]
[[Category:Festivals |D ]]

=Nirvana of Mahavir=
[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/make-someone-smile-this-deepavali/  By JK Jain, Oct 20, 2022: ''The Times of India'']


Deepavali – festival of joy, cheers and happiness is round the corner.

It is a special day. Many of us celebrate Deepavali to mark the return to Ayodhya of Ram, along with his wife, Sita, and brother Lakshman, after living in exile for 14 years.

It is also the day the 24th Jain Tirthankar, Mahavir, attained Nirvana – his soul left his body and achieved complete liberation; and is also celebrated as the festival of lights. In fact, the Hindu and Jain calendars start from Pratipada, the day after Deepavali.

To celebrate the festival of lights, most of us go on a shopping spree, buying gold and diamond jewellery, silverware, new clothes, sweets and candles. While some will burst crackers on Deepavali, others might indulge in drinking and gambling. So, what is the right way to remember Ram and Mahavir, whose memory we relive on this festival?

Ram set the highest standard of sacrifice by willingly renouncing his legitimate kingdom, bowing before the wishes of his father, Dashrath, and opting for a 14-year-long exile in jungles, leading a simple life. Even there, he protected the tribal communities and helped Sugriv regain his lost kingdom.

The 24th Tirthankar, Mahavir, preached and practised the eternal and universal principles of ahimsa; satya; asteya – non-stealing; brahmacharya – chastity; and aparigriha – non-possession.

Many of us celebrate Deepavali totally contrary to the life and teachings of the 24th Tirthankar Mahavir and Maryada Purushottam Ram. Could a true bhakt indulge in gambling, drinking, or take pleasure in bursting crackers, harming innumerable innocent creatures and creating noise and air pollution?

Mahavir prescribed four qualities for a believer: prasham, be in control of passions, anger, arrogance, ego, deceit and greed; samveg, be indifferent, apathetic to sensuous pleasures; anukampa, have compassion for all living beings; and astikya, have full faith in the Divine, holy scriptures, sermons and the guru.

Jain muni Acharya Gyansagar would often ask devotees not to splurge their hard-earned money on purchasing fireworks and crackers. He always inspired people to protect the environment and lives of innocent creatures. Buying sweets and new clothes for near and dear ones on festive occasions is fine, but we must try to take care of the underprivileged too, he would say. “Give your old clothes, if not new ones to the poor, visit the marginalised, who live in dilapidated shanties in slum colonies on the outskirts of the city and bring smile on their faces by giving them food, sweets and candles so that they too can light their houses during Deepavali; help artisans by purchasing handmade earthen diyas, lamps, and lanterns. And don’t forget to visit your neighbours and put an end to the bad feelings or animosity which you might have created in the past, knowingly or unknowingly,” he said.

His words are echoed in a song from the film Anari: ‘Kisi ki muskurahato pe ho nisar, kisi ka dard mil sakey to le udhar, kisi ke vastey ho tere dil me pyar, jeena isi ka naam hai’ – make someone smile, share his grief, love everyone, then only your life is worth living. Otherwise, it is just a waste. So, why not celebrate Deepavali this year in a different manner and bring happiness in the lives of others.