Rituals are meant to be Adaptive and are not Universal...

Q20. Are rituals meant to be adaptive? Do rituals need to change based on environment and place or in other words, are rituals universal? As an example, why are Samayik and Pratikraman rituals not allowed in the temple and is that applicable in all countries?

 

First let’s talk about what are rituals, the purpose of rituals and how they should be performed. Then we will talk about the adaptability and applicability of rituals in different environments/countries.

 

Rituals – What/Why/How

Ritual, in the religious context, is a set of activities performed to remind basic principles of the religion. Rituals have a symbolic and spiritual significance to the performer.

 

Rituals are important for any religion to build a culture, to strengthen their religious values, to create a sense of community, and for survival of a religion. Rituals are required and play a significant role to instill values and build up religious interest in children, youth, and future generations.

 

End Goals of Rituals

Rituals performed with proper understanding ultimately help us:

·        Reduces our kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit)

·        Reduces our attachment to worldly objects and physical relationships

·        Increase compassion toward other living beings

·        Realize true nature of the soul and ultimately lead to liberation

And achieving the above is essentially the aim of religion.

 

How to Perform Rituals

Rituals must be performed with proper knowledge, understanding and reflection. Practicing of any ritual should start with understanding the spiritual purpose of the rituals.

As we are performing any ritual, we need to pause and ask ourselves honestly: Am I doing this ritual with the right knowledge and understanding? Am I doing this ritual with proper yoga posture, proper recitation of sutra, and meditation? Am I reflecting on how this ritual is helping me?

With such reflections, it ends up being primary means of inner transformation.

Rituals performed mechanically, out of fear, ego, greed, deceit, or personal gain, are pointless and provide no spiritual benefit.  On the contrary it further degrades us spiritually because we practice the religion under fear and greed.

 

Please refer to “Rituals: What, Why, How” article for additional details.

 

Rituals are created by the people, and for the people. They are meant to be something that can be easily followed by the laypeople on daily basis in their current environment. Otherwise, it ends up becoming a paper exercise and not something that can be or will be followed by people.

 

 

Rituals are meant to be adaptive

If the rituals are adaptive and responsive to different cultures and social climates, then the rituals and religion remain relevant and vibrant. Hence people continue to stay actively involved. We have seen over history that rituals have changed to suit the needs of the changing times, but values and spiritual intent were kept intact.

As an example, there are distinct differences in the way rituals were performed during Lord Parshwanath’s time vs. Lord Mahavir’s time.

 

During Lord Parshvanath’s time, repentance ritual was performed only if one made a mistake or violated a vow. If an induvial made a mistake multiple times, then the repentance ritual was performed multiple times in a day. And if an individual didn’t make any mistake or violated a vow, then the repentance ritual was not performed.

 

Whereas during Lord Mahavir’s time, he introduced discipline around rituals. He introduced six essential rituals for laypeople like Samayik, Chauvisathho, Vandana, Pratikraman, Kayotsarg and Pacchakhan. This is an example of how the rituals were adjusted in accordance with time, but the spiritual intent of eliminating our Mithyatva and reducing kashayas remained the same.

 

There are rituals around seasons in India. The seasons are different in America, so the seasons related rituals won't be necessarily applicable. For example, there are areas in USA and Canada were sunset occurs sometimes around 3 PM. Will it be practical for individuals in those areas to follow not eating after sunset ritual?  

 

Another example is not eating mangoes during monsoon months in India. Is that applicable in America since it rains almost all year around in many parts of the country?

 

 

Rituals are not universal

Rituals depend on place, time, and environment we live in. But the purpose and spiritual intent remains the same. So, some rituals will be pertinent regardless of the country and some rituals won’t be. We must use our own wisdom to determine the rituals applicability in our current environment. 

Practicing of rituals starts with understanding the spiritual purpose of the ritual and practical applicability to follow the ritual while meeting all the responsibilities as laypeople. This becomes especially important when people migrate from one place to another.

There are many rituals in place today that are rooted from generations of history and they are performed with the mindset that “this is how it’s always been done”. In some cases, these rituals are done in Mithyatva (ignorance), not knowing the spiritual intent but instead following it mechanically. This Mithyatva can be seeded from lack of knowledge, lack of desire to gain information, blindly following rituals, believing in the wrong beliefs, lack of alignment with Jain values/principles, or fear of challenging that status quo.

 

Ritual should not be mistaken as a religion

Ritual should not be mistaken as a religion, but rather the spiritual benefit that we gain directly/indirectly by performing a ritual is the religion. If we are getting spiritual benefit from a ritual, then it is a proper ritual versus a ritual just carried mechanically. Whatever rituals we do, we need to understand the spiritual purpose behind it and then see if we are achieving and/or improving towards achieving that purpose.

 

So, now that we understand rituals should be adaptive and they are not meant to be universal, let’s talk about specific question related Samayik and Pratikraman in detail:

 

 

Why does Jainism not allow Samayik and Pratikraman rituals in the temple and is that applicable in America?

This question has come up at the several Jain centers in America. Many of the small centers don’t have enough space to accommodate various simultaneous. Pratikramans during specifically during Paryushan to include Shvetämbar, Digambar, Sthanakvasi, Youth Pratikaman or Pratikaman performed in English language and so on.

Let’s first understand the purpose of Samayik and Pratikraman:

Samayik: The purpose of Samayik is to remain calm, undisturbed and in the state of equanimity for at least 48 minutes daily. This daily practice is intended to raise our spirituality and inner strength such that we can maintain the state of equanimity throughout the day.

Pratikraman: The purpose of Pratikraman is to reflect, repent, and re-approach upon wrong thoughts, words and actions and ask for forgiveness for the same. This daily practice keeps us constantly awake and aware about our way of living life.

The aims of both rituals are to prepare us in attaining divinity in our thoughts, words, and conduct through awareness and moment to moment mindfulness.

In our effort to understand if there are any scriptures or principles driven reasons for not performing such pious and spiritually uplifting rituals in the temple, we have found none. However, we were given some traditional reasons. We have also provided our perspective and logic for each of the reasons below:

Acharyas and Scholars indicate the following 4 reasons why we are not allowed to do Samayik and Pratikraman in the temple

1.     The primary function of temple is to do Puja and Chaitya Vandan of Tirthankar.  Samayik and Pratikraman are for self-reflection and meditation.  This may take long time.  During this time people sweat perspire and that degrades piousness of temple. 

2.     Samayik and Pratikraman when performed in a group, people seat around the circle and Sthapnacharya in the middle.  This will create Ashatana condition to Tirthankar because few people’s back will be in front of Tirthankar Murti.

3.     In Pratikraman vidhi, when Guru vandan vidhi occurs, if we to do it in the presence of Tirthankar then this is also considered Ashatana.

4.     Anybody can walk-into the temple and will disturb people’s Kaussag, Samayik, or Svadhyay, or meditation.

We need to evaluate the above reasons in different environment and culture from a logical and spiritual viewpoint:

1.     Originally the temples were meant for meditation, the murtis were used as symbol for meditation, and Jainism as well as Buddhism were against murti puja. Later, various rituals got introduced and meditative intent got lost. Also, if the length of the rituals is a concern, then why are Siddhachakra poojans performed in the temple which takes couple of hours? If poojans are allowed, then why not Samayik and Pratikraman?

2.     Regarding Ashatana because of people’s back in front of the murti, why not sit such that no one’s back is towards Tirthankar?

3.     Tirthankar are our first spiritual teachers / gurus then why can’t we recite guru vandan in front of our tirthankars? We do recite Ichcchami Khamasaman in front of tirthankara and monks/nuns and only difference is the number of times it is performed. We recite it for three times in the temple vs. two times in front of monks/nuns.

4.     The concern that anybody can walk in anytime and disturb meditation is more applicable in India since people come and go anytime, but not in USA, Canada, and many other countries.

As we can see that the reasons provided have no spiritual significance.  It is more driven by the culture and tradition in certain sects of Jainism. In America, during Samvatsari Pratikraman more space is required because the entire community does Pratikraman at the same time but in different rooms, such as Shvetambar hall, Sthanakvast hall, Shrimad hall, English Pratikraman hall. 

To indicate that we can do Samayik and Partikraman in a pious place like temple is logical as well as spiritual. The main goal for us is to achieve our spiritual (meditative) intent of these rituals in our current environment.

 

In Summary

We need to have clear understanding of the rituals and the purpose of rituals. For rituals to remain relevant, they need to be adaptive and we must use our own wisdom to determine the rituals applicability in our current environment. 

“Whatever I say, you must test this with your own reasoning and verify it through your own experience. Do not accept what I say blindly by faith alone until it passes the litmus test of intellect.”  – Tirthankar Mahavir

The above is the key message from Mahavir Swami, but the unfortunate situation is performing rituals without proper understanding and then not questioning it under the pretense of faith in religion. We must think about all the information holistically and make our decision keeping the spiritual aim in the forefront.

The ultimate purpose of any ritual is our inner transformation and we are the only ones who can track our progress honestly.

The intent is not to challenge or change a tradition just for sake of it but to understand principles and awareness, such that if a change is required in our current environment, then we can use our own wisdom and not become rigid or timid followers of cultural/legacy traditions.

Jain Rituals - What, Why, How

Q14. Why are rituals important? How should the rituals be performed? What are some of the essential rituals?

First let's define rituals and then we will look into why and how they should be performed. We will also talk about the essential rituals for Jains.

What are rituals?

Ritual, in the religious context, is a set of activities performed to remind basic principles of the religion. They are done in accordance with religious guidelines, social customs, or normal protocols.

Rituals have a symbolic and spiritual significance to the performer. Every religion in the world has their own set of rituals. Rituals are created for the people, by the people, and are an integral part of all religions. Rituals are not meant to be some monotonous, pointless, or meaningless activities, but each ritual has a deep meaning behind it.

There are two aspects that we should consider – Dravya puja and Bhava puja.

• Dravya puja – The physical activities and recitation of sutras are called the rites and rituals. 
• Bhava Puja – The internal reflection that occurs while doing Dravya puja is known as Bhava puja.

The Dravya Puja which is the symbolic aspect must be carried out with proper internal reflection and meditation (Bhava puja) such that our spiritual progress (reduction of our vices or Kashaya) occurs. Without spiritual progress, only performing the Dravya puja has no value.

We must also ensure that we are not using any products like milk, wool, silk, peacock feathers, saffron, varakh, kasturi etc. in Dravya puja that involves significant cruelty. Please refer to the Use of Products that involves Violence / Himsa in Jain Rituals blog post for understanding the cruelty associated with these products in current times and potential alternatives.

Without knowledge and awareness, we are either in false belief, blindly following someone else, or unknowingly promoting the industries that involve cruelty towards animals and such actions result in karma bondage and limits spiritual growth. 

In summary, the internal reflection, meditation and removing mithyatva and kashayas are the goals to be attained and the rituals are the means to achieve that goal.

Why are rituals important?

Rituals are important for any religion to build a culture, strengthen their religious values, and to create a sense of community. Rituals performed with proper understanding are a must for survival of a religion.

Rituals are required and play a significant role to instill values and build up religious interest in children, youth, and future generations. 

The rituals are interwoven in the daily life of a pious Jain to help cultivate virtues like non-violence, tolerance, non-attachment, humbleness, forgiveness, straightforwardness and many more. These virtues help us in daily aspects of life and enable us to live a spiritual, joyful, and peaceful life.

Rituals done properly help us:

• Reduces our kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit)
• Reduces our attachment to worldly objects and physical relationships
• Increase compassion toward other living beings
• Realize true nature of the soul and ultimately lead to liberation

Rituals are intended to enable spiritual growth and serve as a reminder to reflect upon the Jain philosophies, values, and proper conduct. Rituals keep the religion alive and help imprint the religious principles into our minds.

How the rituals should be performed?

Jain Agam Das-vaikalik sutra states the following:

“Padhamum Jnanm Tao Daya.“

First knowledge (Jnan) / understanding and then conduct or action.

This one line provides the essence of how our Tirthankars envisioned the rituals should be performed. But unfortunately, at times, the rituals are performed as some repetitive or habitual activities. They become part of our programmed routine or checklist instead of spiritual experience. We end up focusing on the count or getting it done. We need to pause and ask ourselves honestly: Am I doing this ritual with the right knowledge and understanding? Am I doing this ritual with proper yoga posture, proper recitation of sutra, and meditation? Am I reflecting on how this ritual is helping me?

The rituals must be performed with the right understanding and interpretation, such that it provides spiritual benefits and an inspiring and uplifting experience. We should not carry out any ritual mechanically, blindly, or follow them as tradition without our own wisdom.

For example: The spiritual benefit of fasting is to reduce the attachment or desire towards food. If fasting or any kind of penance is just done mechanically, then it doesn’t result in spiritual benefit. After we fast, we should reflect on how our attachment to food has changed. The reduction to our attachment and getting closer to the true nature of our soul is the spiritual act and the net result of any penance.

The Jain ritual defines that the sutras are to be recited in a certain physical posture and correct pronunciation along with proper reflection in order to derive a spiritual benefit of a ritual. Both physical and internal reflection are various forms of Yoga. In general, Yoga is defined as that which connects with the soul or leads to liberation.

There are two forms of Yoga for rituals, namely:

• Kriya-Yoga includes all physical movement, activity, physical posture and recitation of sutras.
• Jnana-Yoga is the knowledge about the ritual along with proper internal reflection during its performance. It instills the feelings and thoughts as per the meaning of the ritual and absorbs it in the consciousness.

Kriya and Jnana together are critical for the proper performance of any ritual.

Practicing of any ritual starts with understanding the spiritual purpose of the rituals. Ritual must be performed with proper knowledge, understanding and reflection.

Daily Essential Jain Rituals

Jainism is a very practical religion and it helps us in every walk of life. There are several rituals in place to remind us and help us progress spiritually. One of the ways is a daily practice of six Avashyaka (essentials). Mahavir Swami introduced the six essential rituals to practice daily. There are some differences that exist between Shvetambar and Digambar traditions.

Six Essentials of Shvetämbar-Tradition

Samayik	To remain calm, undisturbed and in the state of equanimity for at least 48 minutes daily. This daily practice is intended to raise our spirituality and inner strength such that we can maintain the state of equanimity throughout the day.
Chauvisattho	To pray and remember the qualities of the 24 Tirthankaras. This daily practice is intended to appreciate the Tirthankaras virtues and emulate those in our daily life.
Vandana	To respect Ascetics and provide food (Gochari) and other items like clothes and medicine. This daily practice is intended to cultivate respect, humility, and selfless service.
Pratikraman	To reflect, repent, and re-approach upon wrong thoughts, words and actions and ask for forgiveness for the same. This daily practice keeps us constantly awake and aware about our way of living life.
Kayotsarga	To stay motionless for a varying length of time (Meditation). During Kayotsarga one is neither in the past nor in the future. This daily practice helps us concentrate on the true nature of our soul. Self-awareness is in the present and hence, it can help detach ourselves from worldly attachments.
Pratyakhyana	To take vows to renounce certain activities which can reduce the influx of karmas. This daily practice is intended to discipline ourselves, to control our desires and prepare us for bigger renunciation.

Six Essentials of Digambar-Tradition

Devapujä	Paying respect and appreciating the virtues of the Tirthankaras
Gurupästi	Devotion and service to ascetics
Swädhyäy	Studying of Scriptures
Sanyam	Self-restraint
Tapa	Penance
Däna	Charity

The purpose of these six Aavashyaks is to raise our spirituality and reduce/eliminate our kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit) on a daily basis.

Occasion Oriented Jain Rituals:

Following are some of the most popular festivals in Jainism –

Pancha Kalyänak – Five major events (Pancha Kalyänak) of the life of a Tirthankar

Conception Event (Chyavana Kalyänak)	When a Tirthankar’s soul is conceived in the mother’s womb.
Birth Event (Janma Kalyänak)	When a Tirthankar is born
Renunciation Event (Dikshä Kalyänak)	When a would-be Tirthankar gives up all worldly possessions and family relationships and initiates into the ascetic order
Omniscience Event (Keval-jnän Kalyänak)	When a Tirthankar becomes free of the four Ghäti Karma by the practice of severe discipline, penance, and meditation, and attains Keval-jnän.
Nirvana Event (Nirvana Kalyänak)	When a Tirthankar is liberated from the cycle of birth and death and becomes a Siddha. The Tirthankar destroys the remaining four Aghäti Karma and is now free from all Karma.

Paryushan/Dash Lakshana - During the months of August- September, Paryushan/Dash Lakshana is an important festival of forgiveness and atonement for Jains. Paryushan means staying close to our soul.

Mahavir Janma Kalyanak - It is also known as Mahavir Jayanti. It is an auspicious occasion to celebrate the birth of Lord Mahavir, the 24th and the last Tirthankara, over 2600 years ago. It is observed on the thirteenth day of the bright half of the moon in the month of Chaitra (March/April).

Diwali - Diwali teaches us to uphold the true values of life, to destroy ignorance that prevents humanity, and to drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge. Diwali is celebrated for five days and each day has its own significance: Dhanteras, Kali Chaudas, Diwali (Nirvana day for Mahavir Swami), New Year and Bhai Beej.

Navpad Oli - Nine Elements – It is also called Ayambil Oli. Jain observes Festival of Navpad oli, that last for nine days, twice a year. The first one falls in the bright fortnight of Ashwina month (September/October) and the second during the bright fortnight of Chaitra month (March/April).

Ashtanhika Parv - This is a Jain festival celebrated for eight days three times a year in the months of Kartik (October/November), Falgun (February/March), and Ashdah (June/July). It is celebrated from the eighth day of Shukla Paksh (Waxing moon Cycle) till Purnima/Guru Purnima every year.

Summary

Rituals are important and critical stepping-stones for our spiritual progress. Rituals performed mechanically without knowledge, understanding, and reflection does not provide any spiritual benefit. Also, if the rituals are performed out of fear, ego, greed, deceit, or personal gain, they are pointless and provide no benefit.

We want to ensure that rituals are performed with the right understanding and are enhancing our spiritual growth. Rituals done properly help reduce/eliminate our kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit), help us realize the true nature of the soul and ultimately leads us to liberation.

The daily rituals / practices are intended to raise our spirituality, increase our inner strength, practice meditation, self-control, reflection, self-awareness, and essentially allow us to live by our Jain values and maintain the state of equanimity in all situations.

Jainism Perspective on use of Products that involves Violence / Himsa in Jain Rituals

Q5. Why are products that involve himsa or cruelty of movable beings (Tras Jiva) used in various Jain Rituals? Products like milk, wool, silk, peacock feathers, saffron, varakh etc. Should we continue to use them?

Rituals play an important part in our religion to build culture around the community, to inspire one another, strengthen religious values, build up interest in religion and for survival of any religion. However, rituals must be performed with the right understanding and interpretation, such that it provides an inspiring and uplifting experience. Rituals should enable our spiritual growth and serve as a reminder to reflect upon the Jain philosophies, values and proper conduct.

There are many rituals in place today that are rooted from generations of history and they are performed with the mindset that “this is how it’s always been done”. In some cases, these rituals are done in Mithyatva (ignorance), not knowing that some of these materials used in rituals do indeed come from violence. This Mithyatva can be seeded from lack of knowledge, lack of desire to gain information, blindly following rituals, believing in the wrong beliefs, lack of alignment with Jain values/principles, or fear of challenging that status quo.

Our intent in addressing this question is to create awareness, create a positive and enriching experience about the religion and answer questions for curious minds who want to understand rather than follow blindly. It will cause a little discomfort as we are stepping out of our comfort zone.

Now, let's understand the use of certain products in Jain rituals, spiritual intent behind the rituals, cruelty associated with these products in current times and potential alternatives. 

Use of Milk in Abhishek and other rituals

Spiritual Significance:

The spiritual intent behind Abhishek is to make our life simple and pure by cleaning our souls, getting rid of our undesired qualities, and ultimately ending the cycle of birth and death (i.e. Moksha).

Background:

Jain literature indicates that during Tirthankar Abhishek only pure water called kshir samandra water was used. This water was so pure that it looked white in color. Hence to symbolize this water, people started to mix a small amount of milk with water and a tradition established.

Compassion / Non-violence Point of View:

In today’s commercial environment, the milk is produced in the most cruel way by depriving calf of its mother's milk, slaughtering male calves and ultimately slaughtering mother cows around 5 years of age. Also, there was never a reference made to use actual milk in any Jain scriptures.

Hurting or killing five sense animals are considered highest sin in Jain literature. Please visit the Jainism view on Dairy products blogpost for violence involved in modern day dairy industry.

What can we do now?

Given what we know and understand about commercial milk production, we should refrain from using milk, and milk products like ghee, sweets, especially in any religious rituals.

We can also find alternative ways to complete the rituals, for example use only pure water or add small amount of non-dairy milk like almond milk instead of cow’s milk, use vegetable oil instead of ghee in any ritual. In the past about 100 years ago, Castor oil was used in the temple Arti and Mangal divo and other rituals.

Use of Woolen Katashanu and Charavalo during Samayik and Pratikraman Rituals

Spiritual Significance:

Samayik and Pratikraman are the most important rituals for our spiritual growth. The purpose of Samayik is to meditate, reflect and strengthen our soul on a daily basis. During Pratikraman ritual, we repent for our mistakes and wrongdoings. Hence the aims of both rituals are to prepare us in attaining divinity through perfection in conduct and Meditation.

Background:

Katashanu is used to sit on and Charavalo is used for any movement during the Samayik and Pratikraman rituals. In older days, during cold weather the woolen Katashanu and Charavalo provided health protection to insects and us.

Compassion / Non-violence Point of View:

Sheep which thrive in nature without human intervention, will grow just enough wool to protect themselves from the cold in the winter and to keep them cool in the summer. When it is time, they will shed their winter coat all by themselves.

Sheep used for wool production are bred to have way more wool than they would have produced naturally. Plus, when they have their wool shaved off (a process called shearing), the people are paid by how much wool they can get, and a lot of sheep get hurt and some even have parts of their ears or skin cut off. The wool industry does not only exploit sheep, but it is also very cruel to them.
Other kinds of natural wool also known as, mohair, pashmina, shahtoosh, cashmere etc. have the same suffering and exploitation of animals.

What can we do now?

Use alternatives to wool, including cotton, cotton flannel, polyester fleece or other cruelty-free fiber for Katashanu and Charavalo.

References:

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/animals-used-clothing-factsheets/inside-wool-industry/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C4%81m%C4%81yika

Use of Silk in Places of Worship

Spiritual Significance:

The tradition says that silk is purest and cleanest material and it should be worn during Puja in temple rituals.

Background:

It all started around 1133 AD at the time of King Kumarpal, the King of Gujarat, a state in Western India. During his rule he was greatly influenced by a great Jain teacher Acharya Hemchandra. The King was so inspired by his teachings of Ahmisa (non-violence) and Compassion that he declared in his entire state to stop killing of animals for food, sport or fun.

It is said that he was further inspired by the saint to lead a religious life and perform puja (a symbolic worship to a Tirthankar Murti (idol) in the temple) to show his devotion to Lord Mahavir. The King decided to wear the best and most expensive new clothes to perform the puja and so he ordered the best of the material to be obtained. His men went and purchased the costliest, finest and softest material from China, called silk, for their King.  

At that time, no one knew that the imported material was made by killing silkworms, which involved sheer violence. But since then the tradition continues. Unfortunately, even today some people wear silk clothes in religious rituals justifying that King Kumarpal used it.

Compassion / Non-violence Point of View:

How many people know that the silk, one wears or uses involves 100% violence to silkworm, but one wears it with great pride in the places of worship? It is sad that one follows tradition blindly without questioning the origination or it’s making process. 15 silkworms are killed to get 1 gram of silk. Silkworms are usually boiled alive and female moths are slit open to check for diseases after they lay eggs.

What can we do now?

There are many other materials that look somewhat like silk are from man-made fibers known as artificial silk (art silk). Of these, rayon (viscose) is of vegetable origin; whereas nylon and polyester (terrene) are petroleum products. Although man-made fibers do not have direct himsa but they do have environmental impact that leads to indirect himsa. So, it is best to use material like cotton instead of any materials that involves himsa/violence. 

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk#Production_process

The Book of Compassion pages 51-54.

Use of Peacock Feather

Spiritual Significance:

Peacock feather is used for a broom/picchi to clean Murti in the temple by one sect and the floor by another sect. The spiritual intent behind this usage is to practice Ahimsa and save insects and minutest micro-organism.

Background:

A Jain sadhu practices 5 mahavrats: Ahimsa mahavrat, Satya mahavrat, Asteya mahavrat, Brahmacharya mahavrat and Aparigraha mahavrat.

Digambar sadhu uses Picchi or Picchika to clean the floor as one of the aspects for practicing Ahimsa duirng moving from one place to another. The Picchis are made of peocock feathers (Swetambar sadhu use woolen Charavalo which has similar concerns from a compassion point of view). 

Traditionally, the feathers are collected in the rainy season when a peacock shed them naturally one at a time. A digambar sadhu never walks without his picchika. Swetambars use picchi to clean Aangi (Puja) material from Murti every morning in the temple.

Peacock naturally discards one feather at a time and a new feather comes in. According to the tradition, in the past, the picchis were made from only using the naturally discarded feathers and they were replaced only when the Picchis were not usable.

Compassion / Non-violence Point of View:

Nowadays to collect peacock feathers manually from the forest takes a lot of labor which is very expensive. Hence now peacocks are raised just for feathers. They manually pluck all the feathers from live peacock and then kill the peacock. China is one of the biggest suppliers for peacock feathers. Also, nowadays picchis are replaced every year regardless of their usability. It is an annual ritual in certain tradition.

What can we do now?

Be aware and mindful of the spiritual intent behind picchi ritual. Ensure that the material used for such a compassionate purpose of saving minutest bugs does not involve so much violence towards peacock. Going forward, it is best to use other sweeping materials that does not involve violence towards any movable living beings. 

Use of Saffron in Puja

Spiritual Significance:

In the ancient Jain literature, there is no mention of using saffron for murti puja. Rather, only chandan (sandalwood) is used. The spiritual intent behind using chandan in puja is to remind us that by applying chandan to Bhagwan murti we wish to make ourselves peaceful, quiet and calm (samata).

Background:

Somewhere along history, someone mixed saffron with chandan, probably because of smell / color or because it is a very rich product and Jains traditionally like to use the best. It got introduced only a couple of hundred years ago and after one generation, these kinds of things become traditions.  

Compassion / Non-violence Point of View:

About 50,000 - 75,000 saffron flowers are plucked / destroyed to create 1 lb of saffron. Each flower only has one thread of saffron and using the saffron thread destroys the flower. There is a youtube video on saffron production.

Even though Saffron is a flower and not a movable living being, from compassion point of view, it is the sheer number of flowers that are destroyed for saffron production. And the use of saffron is not even indicated in our literature. Jain principle indicates that dravya puja should be done with minimum violence. 

In addition, saffron is significant acidic and the acid in saffron harms the marble murtis. Hence to protect the murtis, Acharyas at that time decided to put placeholders "tikkas" for where the saffron can be used during puja. We will never see "tikkas" on the old murtis. Tikkas on murtis gives out the perception that the murti is for puja only. The old murtis without tikkas, ornaments or other decorative material serves as a more conducive symbol for meditation and internalization of the Jain values and principles.

What can we do now?

Be aware and mindful of the spiritual intent behind the puja ritual. Ensure that the material used for such a pious purpose does not involve the significant large quantity of flowers and we achieve the intended spiritual benefit. Going forward, it is best to use only chandan rather than saffron mixed with chandan for puja. Also, if we were to use pure chandan instead of kesar then there is no damage to the murti either and there will be no need for "Tikas". And the murti will also serve the purpose of meditation object for the beginners. 

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mna7iUIP2fM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron#Cultivation

Use of Varakh in rituals at Temple

Spiritual Significance: 

The belief is that more people would visit temple because of decoration of the Murti. This will help to spread Jain religion.

Background:

Varakh or silver / gold foil is used in many Jain temples on idols and in some religious ceremonies. Typically, we are unaware of the process used for manufacturing it. Mostly it is used to beautify the appearance of the murti and other sweet products used in Naivedya Puja.

Compassion / Non-violence Point of View:

Varakh is made by placing the pure metal (silver or gold) between parchment sheets or by manually pounding between the layers of ox gut. Varakh itself is not derived from an animal source. However, in manual method a crucial material of animal origin, ox-gut / animal intestine, is used in its manufacture. This ox-gut is obtained from the slaughterhouse.

Even though varakh can be made using machines, the costs with using machines is significantly higher. So, we can't really be sure what is source of the varakh production.

What can we do now?

Rather than using varakh, many temples today use metal moldings that are custom made to fit the murti.  These moldings replicate the gold/silver look and are not made with cow's intestines so that violence is eliminated. In reality, we do not need to use Varakh in any ritual or on food items at all.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vark#Manufacturing

The Book of Compassion pages 44-47

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) bans silver leaf (Varakh) of animal origin in food items: 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/FSSAI-bans-silver-leaf-of-animal-origin-in-food-items/articleshow/53514713.cms

Bottom Line:

It is up to each one of us to ensure that our rituals/products are in-sync with our Jain values and principles. We don’t know who, why or when certain materials were introduced or changed in our rituals. But going forward, each of us as individuals can make a conscious choice, using our own knowledge, research and wisdom, of what we want to use.

There are many aspects that plays in a role when it comes to such changes, but it is up to each one of us, to not do things out of ignorance, fear, force, greed, guilt or reward. 

Without knowledge and awareness, we are either in false belief, blindly following someone else or unknowingly promoting the industries that involve cruelty towards animals and such actions result in karma bondage and limits spiritual growth. 

Therefore, when it comes religious rituals, products used for rituals or any such things, we need to do the due diligence of gaining as much information as we can. Plus, nowadays given technology/internet, we can do the required research very efficiently to ensure that we have the knowledge and awareness.