Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
A Random Image


Related

More news articles & news archive on Jainism


Translate



Advertisements *

What is a cult: Cult Definition
Simple steps to financial health and a good credit score


Elsewhere

Some critics refer to the so-called 'Prosperity Gospel' as Blab It and Grab It


Jainism:

Jain monks bare all to find ‘ocean of peace’

AFP, via the Gulf Times (Quatar), France
Feb. 28, 2006
www.gulf-times.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 13792 • Posted: Tuesday February 28, 2006  

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark
Click here... More articles on this topic: Jainism

SHRAVANABELAGOLA: When he was 18, maths student Prayant Sagar discarded his blue jeans to listen to his “inner call” and become a naked Hindu monk.

Sagar has since graduated to the third and penultimate stage of becoming a Jain Digambar monk and living a spartan lifestyle along strict non-violent and vegetarian principles.

“In life, different people achieve different things. Right from childhood I wanted to become a sage. I didn’t want to be rich or famous,” says Sagar. “I listened to my inner call, followed a dream and am close to realising it.”

Sagar was among 200 monks who attended the nine-day Mahamastaka Abhisheka (head anointment ceremony) earlier this month in this town in Karnataka to honour their naked god Lord Bahubali.

Some 3mn devotees of the Jain sect turned up for the festival in which worshippers pour offerings such as milk, coconut water and turmeric over Bahubali’s 57ft-high stone statue.

The sect emerged as a protest against the elaborate rituals of Hinduism. There are two sects of Jains — the Digambaras, who are traditionally naked, and the Svetambaras who wear white clothes.

There are four stages to becoming a muni or full-fledged Digambar monk

whose vows include fasting, begging, learning to endure bodily discomfort and meditation.

In the first stage, the monks wear white robes. In the second and third they wear loin cloths and in the last are naked.

“To find an ocean of peace, one has to renounce, respect and sacrifice. That is what this sect is all about,” Sagar, clad in a loin cloth, says.

Sagar hails from a devout Hindu middle class family in Indore in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. When he announced his intention to become a monk, “my mother and father did not stand in my way,” he says.

The bachelor monks live life by a strict code. They do not smoke or consume alcohol, honey or certain fruits. They also eat no root vegetables.

“It’s very hard,” says Samiti Sagar Maharaj, 75, a former teacher who left his family a decade ago to become a Digambar.

“The central principles we follow are Jivadaya (respect for all living forms) and Ahimsa (non-violence). For this we do not walk on grass or light a fire. We’re very careful when we walk so as not to hurt anything,” he says.

“One can join at any time of life provided one sticks to the vows. I gave up my ‘kingdom’ a bit late,” he says.

“Now I realise the moment you leave your material world one can attain peace. I do not visit any member of my family but they can come and meet me,” he says.

The monks are so devoted to their credo of non-violence they often wear masks to cover their mouths to avoid killing insects they might inhale.

They hand pluck their hair from their heads as they do not go to barbers. They cannot have baths. Instead, they mop their bodies with a wet cloth to try to save small organisms living in water from being killed.

The followers live on a single meal taken standing before six at night and cannot use any transport. At night, they are forbidden to speak to anyone and spend time meditating and reading scriptures.

They walk barefoot carrying peacock feathers meant to sweep away organisms on the floor before they sit, a vessel of water and a begging bowl. Two years ago, ex-garment trader Abhinandan Sagar joined the group of naked monks who number some 500 in India, according to sect’s top spiritual leader Tarun Sagar.

“My wife left me. I was broken and then I took this decision to become a monk. I don’t regret it a bit though I’m finding it a bit tough,” he says.

Monk Sagar, the former maths student, says he does not worry about what people think of Digambars.

“You may see me as a naked man. But I see everyone, every living being in one colour. I see God in everyone,” he says.

“You may call it (being naked) madness. But I’m not alone. I feel neither pain nor pleasure. I’m not attached to anything in this world.”

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark


What You Can Do From Here

Read More Articles On These Topics
more cult news articlemore religion news Categories: Jainism
more religion news aboutmore Religion News Blog articles about
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Follow Religion News Blog on Twitter


Read Another Article
Find Related Information
cult research search enginecountercult information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults
Find Related Books


Most Popular Today


Share This Article

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:





Counter Cult Search

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.


Apologetics Search

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.

Home
Latest Headlines
RSS news feed [?]
Headlines by Email
News Trackers
Free content for your site
About RNB
Privacy Policy
Contact RNB
Link to RNB
Advertise on RNB
Apologetics Index
Cult FAQ
Apologetics Search Engine
CounterCult Search Engine