By Lalit Garg Special on the eve of Paryushan Mahaparv: Writer, Journalist, Columnist E-253, Saraswati Kunj Apartment Paryushan, The festival of Self-Awareness 25 IP Extensions, Patparganj, Delhi-92 Email: [email protected] Lalit Garg Phone: 22727486, 9811051133 Paryushan festival is such a great spiritual festival of eight days of Jain society, which not only illuminates our body, but can awaken the mind. This is such a season that not only the atmosphere but also the mind turns into purity. Aadhi, Vyadhi and Upadhi are treated and lead to Samadhi, which is celebrated every year all over the world. This festival has its own unique importance in the sacrificial culture of Jainism. It is not only a festival; it is considered a great festival. Because this festival is a spiritual festival, and is the only inspiring festival of self-purification. That is why this festival is not only a festival, it is a great festival. It is the most recognized festival of Jain people. The real meaning and purpose of Paryushana is to reside in nature, in the soul, being confined to the senses. Paryushan festival is an occasion for many types of rituals like chanting, austerity, meditation, worship, anupreksha etc. This great festival is the festival of spiritual brightness. It is a day of introspection; it is time to look within. The Paryushan festival teaches us to look inward. The one watching outside remains on the edge. But one who dives deep finds priceless gems. Man's mind cannot become weightless until it reaches the depths of the inner being and becomes free from weight. Liberation cannot be attained by merely listening to the sermons. It can be attained through the spirit of ultimate meditation or by the classical knowledge of Aradhana-Viradhana. For this it is necessary to do “Pratikraman”. The meaning of Pratikraman is to heal the wounds on daily, fortnightly and samvatsari occasions by treating the mistakes caused due to pramaada and the ulcers or wounds caused by it on consciousness. Pratikraman is the combination of two words, Pra meaning return and atikraman meaning violation. Literally, it means returning from the violations. As Jain householders, we are supposed to observe the twelve minor vows to minimize the violence towards other living beings which in turn minimizes the damage to our own souls. Through pratikraman, the causes of mistakes can be discovered, and they can also be remedied. The essence of Pratikraman is come back to yourself. For example, coming from untruth to truth, from bad to good, moving from enmity to friendship. The root cause of today's man who is so disturbed is the lack of introspection. Everyone is blaming the other, but is not able to take even the slightest initiative in admitting his mistake. Through Pratikraman, mistakes made in one's life or inadvertently can be resolved contemplatively. The main purpose of doing pratikraman is to rectify mistakes. The result of pratikraman is - pratikraman of the past, contemporary to the present and denial for the future. The use of Pratikraman is a spiritual practice for purification of these three times – past, future and present. Soul is the creator of sorrow and happiness and destroyer of them. A soul engaged in good tendencies is a friend and a soul engaged in evil tendencies is its enemy. Therefore, one has to make a friend, find his secret within and destroy his enemies, and then his secret will also be found within. In fact, Paryushana is an infallible remedy for inner cleanliness. The entire Jain society becomes awake and engaged in spiritual practice on the occasion of this festival. In the Digambara tradition, it is recognized as "DashlakshanaParva". 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 BhadravShuklaPanchami is the day of Samadhi which is celebrated as Samvatsari with A TO Z INDIA OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 10