आगम और आधुनिक परिप्रेक्ष्य में भ्रमणाचार

Summary

This article from *Gyan Deshna* (Year 3, Issue 2, July-December 2010) examines the conduct of Jain ascetics (*shramanachar*) from both scriptural and modern perspectives. It distinguishes between two types of conduct: *nishchay charitra* (absolute conduct), which is the pure, equanimous state of the soul free from delusion and agitation, and *vyavahar charitra* (practical conduct), which is the external discipline necessary to achieve the former. The text emphasizes that while *nishchay charitra* is essential for liberation, it is impossible without the foundation of *vyavahar charitra*. Citing Acharya Kundakunda, it explains that true conduct is equanimity, a state free from the rise of deluding karma, which is only possible at advanced spiritual stages. For current practitioners with weaker spiritual strength, the focus must be on faultless observance of practical conduct as per the Jina's command. The article details the life of a Digambara monk, who renounces all possessions including clothing, accepts only a peacock feather and water gourd, and observes the five great vows, five samitis, restraint of the five senses, and twenty-eight primary qualities (*mool guna*). These include celibacy, sleeping on the ground, eating once a day, and plucking hair. The text warns against laxity in these rules, which leads to lower classifications of monks. It stresses that while society honors the external symbol of monkhood (*dravyaling*), the true path to liberation is the inner disposition (*bhavaling*). The article concludes by lamenting modern deviations, where some ascetics have become entangled in wealth and desires, contrary to the ascetic ideal of detachment and spiritual focus.