As I promised, today I will give you some views of the two religions, the Jainism and the Hinduism side by side with some comparisons for you to consider and adopt the best of them in your lifestyles so that you always remain happy and blissful.
Firstly, the five A's of Jainism, which mainly constitutes it's philosophies. 1) They follow the "Apology Day". Asking apology for ones actions and words which unknowingly hurts or creates an obstruction in the life of the neighbour is a noble deed. We may feel that cutting some shrubs will eliminate the pest of mosquitos 🦟, but others may think that shrubs will keep the soil and land proper with adequate moisture content, whose trimming may be uncomfortable and unjust. Similarly, truthfulness is always required and preferred, whereas some may have an idea that tricks of trades are more required in business than naked truth. So ultimately forgiveness to all and apology for all is a must requirement in this fast-moving world for establishing social peace.
2) Ahimsa. Take for instance, the budget of India 🇮🇳 and Pakistan 🇵🇰 in defense requirements, if siphoned will surely increase health, education and research, and development, otherwise is always spent in military and ammunition. True , but that state of Ahimsa has not been reached by the human race till now. The result is tensions in many parts of the world and military exercises and loss of lives. This is the macro level, but in the micro-level also Jainism states that we should not kill or hurt any creatures that live in this earth with us, even more the thought of hurting animals is a sin, again Ahimsa moves to this extent that violence in speech is also a sin towards fellow beings. Like abusing, using harsh words towards friends are all considered as shades of Ahimsa.
3) Anekantavada (= multi sided doctrine ). That is, erase Ekantavada that is, avoid one sided ness. Practice multi sided principle forget that I am all true, "Aham brahmashmi" my own ego, give way to all considerations from all corners. When there is a conflict between the father and the son, also pay heed to the logic of the small child, maybe you are overlooking the points the child, who wants to put forward the value of just smiling. Which may make you feel like less of seriousness; whereas it is ever healthy. This way, considering all ideas from all directions, help us become more logical than only own ideas as the ultimate truth.
4) Aahar charya, the food chart. Right food ,in right time, and the right way. Take your dinner when the Sun sets at around 6:30pm and keep an intermittent fasting of 14 hours, till the breakfast at around 9 am, and continue this schedule regularly. You will enjoy an intermittent fasting everyday. This keeps the body system clean automatically, and healthy. Always take freshly cooked food, not the long preserved or the long refrigerated food items because they give negative energy of sleepiness. Correct way is sitting on the dining table or squatting on the floor with the food in front, and cool glass of water from the earthen pot. This will increase your life expectancy to 100 years.
5) The 5th A is Aparigraha, lesser attachment to the material things of this realistic world. Try to keep your wealth limited, to the extent you truly require, the excess you donate to the needy and poor. In the Swetamber sect, sadhus wear only one white full loin cloth and reduce their requirements to the minimum, and in the Digambar sect sadhus remain naked requiring nothing to clad them, though this is extreme yet these are practiced. I gave a brief overlook of the Jainism through these 5 A's, now comes Hinduism.
Forgiveness, ahimsa, anekantavada, true practice of brahmacharya, and aparigraha; all are described in the Hindu sect, but worth mentioning is the holy book the nectar of the Upanishads the Vedas and the Vedanta the self-narrated version of Bhagwan Sri Krishna the Gita to his own friend (sakha) in the battlefield when he stays baffled between the armies of kaurav and the Pandav. Bhagwan explains the way to liberation, staying in the worldly life itself through action. How aspiring the property leads to addiction of wealth, resulting greed, whose stoppage results anger, this degrades a man, who looses his mind and fails this-worldly race. He is unable to distinguish between good and bad. In many ways Bhagwan shows the path of pure action by devotion towards self belief, self ability towards ultimate goal of mankind. This Gita is the gist of the total holy milk of the heavenly cows 🐄 which Bhagwan is himself mulching for his friend Arjuna to liberation. So Gita is the best holy sect of the Hindus. It's detailed description is beyond this limited scope. I will try sometimes to give an overview, but for now I stop.
Subir Kumar Ghosh.
