The month of Shravan in the Vikram Calendar which is being observed in central and North India mainly, falls during the month of August or September. This month is a Holy month as per the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain calendars. The month of Shravan is one of the four months of the Rainy season. The water gets contaminated and travelling becomes bit difficult during this time. Jain monks and nuns usually stay at one place and do not travel during the rainy season to avoid harm to the tiniest living beings. So, this is the period of concentrating on religious activities. Also, our digestive system gets sluggish in this period and we are advised to observe fasts and limit our intake of food.
Jain monks and Acharyas have advocated that before they (Monks and nuns) begin their monsoon sojourn, all Jains should come to gather and celebrate the holy days with great devotion. These days of religious observance are called Paryushan or Das-Lakshana Parva. Shvetamberas celebrate this for eight days and call it Paryushan and Digambara s celebrate this for 10 days and call it a Das Lakshana Parva.
This is the time for introspection and looking inwards. A time for repenting for any mistakes and any sin committed during the whole year and beg each other’s forgiveness. This is the time when Jains cultivate humility and brotherhood by coming together and forgetting conflicts and differences between their nearest and dearest ones.
Fasting is a very important part of Paryushan. Some Jains fast during the entire period of Paryushan and some fast only on the first and last day. On the days of fasting, they drink boiled/purified water only. They avoid green leafy vegetables. They read holy Jain books and scriptures. They meditate and pray to God. They sing devotional songs and listen to speeches and lectures by the Jain monks.
The festival concludes with people greeting each other ‘Micchami Dukkadam’ which means, "may all the evil that has been done be fruitless." On the last day, which is known as Samvatsari, people greet family, friends and all others with this phrase, thus seeking forgiveness for any kind of hurt or harm caused intentionally or unintentionally. By saying this phrase, you are forgiving those who have done wrong to you and those to whom you have done wrong.
Jain follow the 24th enlightened beings. The last one was Mahavir Swami who lived during 499 BCE to 427 BCE. He laid down and preached the principles of non-violence, truth, non-stealing, non-possessiveness and celibacy.
There are 60,000 Jains in this country and 32 Jain organisations. The beautiful temple in Potters Bar and the one in Leicester are large temples. One is being built in Colindale which will be a big place for all the Jains. There is a temple in Kenton, Harrow area of London and is quite popular amongst local Jains. There is a temple in Harrow for the Digambar sect and there are few small shrines at other places.
Jains are strict vegetarians and they follow the diet rules like what to eat and when to eat very strictly. Jains do not believe in harming or cutting down trees and plants. They say that as there is life everywhere we must look after our resources and our environment with great respect and care.
