Celebration
1. Which celebrations i.e. festival occasions – are important to the faith community.
2. How, when and where are these celebrations done?
3. Why are they important to the individual and the faith community?
4. What rituals occur.
5. What is distinctive about these celebrations?
There are many festivals in the Jain calendar. The most important of these are Mahavir Jyanti The Jain festival of the birth of Lord Mahavira(birth of Lord Mahavir), Diwali Hindu, Jain and Sikh autumn festival of lights(Enlightenment of Lord Mahavir) and ParyushanEight day Jain Shvetambara festival of forgiveness or DaslakshanThe ten day Digambara Jain festival of forgiveness (festival of forgiveness). The dates follow the lunar calendar and not the Christian calendar so they vary from year to year. The festivals are celebrated at temples and community centres wherever Jains live or if such facilities are not available then local community halls are hired for this purpose. They are always celebrated collectively and Jains make a point of coming together during these special days.
For example, during the eight day ShvetambaraSect of Jainism where monks and nuns wear white festival of Paryushan, there is a lot of fasting. It is a time to apply a handbrake on life and focus on personal salvation and liberation. The ideal fast is for the full eight days without any food whatsoever - it is not compulsory but many endeavour to do this at least once in their lives. There is a daily communal prayer and lectures and readings from the sacred scriptures. The eighth day is the day of forgiveness. On the ninth day, there is large and colourful fast-breaking ceremony where people come to 'spoon-feed' those who have fasted for the eight days.
The distinctive feature of these celebrations is the way in which they spiritually recharge individuals and the community. Faces light up and spirits are lifted and rejuvenated. They play a key role in the renewal of commitment to faith and the uniting of the community. None of these events are exclusive.
Websites
http://faithandthearts.com/?s=Jain
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/ - BBC Religions Site and links to broadcasts about Jainism
http://www.bl.uk - British Library website. Library has a good collection of Jain Manuscripts.
http://www.faithandthearts.com - Essay on Jain Art
http://www.jainheritagecentres.com
http://www.jainworld.com www.jainsamaj.org
http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/asia/asia_features/jainism/index.html - Victoria & Albert Museum Site which has good collection of Jain Art
http://www.youngjains.org.uk - Young Jains' website
Bibliography
Banks, M., 1992. Organising Jainism in India and England. Oxford, OUP.
Cort, J.E., 2001. Jains in the World - Ideology and Religious Values in India. n.l.: n.s.
Dundas, P., 2002. The Jains. London: Routledge.
Granoff, P., 1998. The Forest of Thieves - An anthology of medieval Jain stories. n.l.: n.s.
Jain, M., 2005. Jain Food - Compassionate and Healthy Eating. USA: n.s.
Jaini, P., 1998. The Jaina Path of Purification. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Pal, P., 1994. Peaceful Liberators - Jain Art from India. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Rankin, A., 2006. The Jain Path - Ancient Wisdom for the West. n.l.: O Books.
Sangave, V., 1980. Jaina Community. Bombay: n.s.
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