Dharam Shiksha - Class 29

Jai Jinendra dear children and parents!

Our last Dharam Shiksha class began with a heartfelt Mangal Bhavna for every Jeev in this Lok, filling the atmosphere with positivity and compassion.

We followed this with a sincere revision of Paaths already learned and explained, where the children participated enthusiastically.

We then moved on to understanding the concept of Samyaktva and the 5 types of Vyavhar Samkit.

What is Samyaktva?

Thanks to the previous Dharam Classes, the children are nicely aware of the concept of Mithyatva.

Now Samyaktva is the TOTAL OPPOSITE of Mithyatva.

We have already discussed the 10 types of Mithyatva like considering Jeev as Ajeev and Ajeev as Jeev, Dharam as Adharam and Adharam as Dharam, Sadhu as Asadhu and Asadhu as Sadhu, and so on.

A Samyaktvi Jeev has full understanding of the concepts of Jeev-Ajeev, Dharam-Adharm, Sadhu-Asadhu, Moksha Marg-Sansar Marg and Mukt-Amukt.

So basically, Samyaktva means having the ability to differentiate between right and wrong.

Vyavhar Samkit

In simple words, when Samyaktva starts reflecting in someone's personality, that's called Vyavhar Samkit.

Vyavhar basically means quality. Just like if you go outside during daytime with your eyes closed, you can still feel the sun's rays on you. You know that the sun is up in the sky even with closed eyes because of its qualities - light and warmth.

Similarly, fragrance is a flower's inherent quality.

Likewise, human beings also have qualities that shape up their personality.

Next, Samkit stands for Samyaktva.

So Vyavhar Samkit means qualities that are present in Samyaktvi Jeevs.

5 Types of Vyavhar Samkit

Vyavhar Samkit can be of the following 5 types:

1. Prasham (Remaining Calm)

Prasham means having a peaceful nature. No matter what the circumstances, samyaktvi jeevs remain calm and composed.

They don't get angry or sad in difficult times, and they do not swell with pride or happiness when things are going great.

2. Samveg (Desire to walk on Moksha Marg)

This means a strong desire to walk on the Path of Moksha and feeling detached from anything that makes one deviate from that beautiful path.

Anyone with Samveg understands that if the circumstances are not favourable, that's because of their own karma.

A samyaktvi jeev considers unfavourable circumstances as a "guest" that has come to help them cut shed bad karmas.

3. Nirved (Self-control)

In simple words, Nirved means self-control. The more we accumulate stuff, the more we get attached to it. So Nirved is all about keeping your desires and wants to a bare minimum and letting go of posessions that are unnecessary or not required.

For instance, let's say you have 5 pens and your younger sibling asks for one. Now even though you have more pens than you need, you still do not feel like sharing even one of them. That's what "Parigraha" is.

Nirved means letting go of "Parigraha".

Nirved also means keeping control over our thoughts and actions when it comes to the opposite gender.

4. Anukampa (Empathy)

Anukampa means empathy and compassion. A samyaktvi jeev feels immense compassion towards all beings around them.

For instance, let's say a motorcyclist meets with an accident on a highway. Now there will be two types of people - one who will immediately stop their vehicles to help the injured.

And the other who will probably film the injured on their mobile phones without offering help, or simply pass by thinking - "I do not want to get involved with the Police or hospital."

The first category of people show empathy or anukampa.

Also, anukampa is not just about helping people physically or with money. It also includes offering mental peace.

For instance, listening to someone's problems might make them feel relieved. If you're doing that, it also falls under anukampa.

5. Aastha (Faith)

Aastha means having faith in true Guru, Dev and Dharam.

It means following the path shown by our great Tirthankars, Kewalis and gurus.

Even if a situation arises where our life is at stake, in those circumstances also our faith in our religion remains strong.

Even if something in our Shastras confuses us, we should accept it thinking this is what our great Kewal Gyanis said. If I cannot understand it at the moment, this is my fault or shortcoming.

STORY TIME: Arya Chandanbala's Samyaktva

Whenever we talk about samyaktva, it is hard not to remember Arya Chandanbala ji - Bhagwan Mahavir Swami's first female disciple and the first head of the sadhvi samudaay (group).

Let us hear her story...

The Princess Who Got Sold in Kaushambi

Long ago, in the kingdom of Champa, there lived a beautiful and kind princess named Vasumati. She was loved and respected by everyone.

But one day, a cruel king attacked their kingdom. After defeating her father, he abducted young Vasumati and took her away from her palace.

On the way, the soldier who had captured her felt pity for her. Instead of harming her, he secretly sold her in the city of Kaushambi in a market of slaves.

Princess Becomes A Slave

When a wealthy merchant named Dhanna Seth saw Princess Vasumati in the slave market, he instantly realized she belonged to a noble family. He feared some evil people might buy her and treat her in a wrong manner.

So to prevent that, he bought Vasumati himself.

Dhanna Seth was kind-hearted and treated Vasumati like his own daughter. He even renamed her Chandanbala.

But there was a problem.

His wife Moola Sethani got jealous of the beauty and goodness of Chandanbala. Slowly, jealousy turned into cruelty.

The Cruel Treatment

One day, when Dhanavaha wasn't home, Moola Sethani took the opportunity and shaved Chandanbala’s beautiful, long hair.

Then she made her wear simple, rough clothes and put iron chains on her feet. She even locked Chandanbala in a small room and gave her very little food.

Poor Chandanbala suffered silently. She was hungry and weak, but she did not complain. She kept her "Samyaktva" and thought - "Moola Sethani is not at fault here. All this is the result of my past karma. I must bear this patiently and calmly."

Bhagwan Mahavir’s Difficult "Abhigrah" (Vow)

Around the same time, Bhagwan Mahavir Swami had taken a very special and difficult vow.

He decided he would accept food and break his fast only if:

• It was given by a princess who had become a slave.

• Her head was shaved.

• She had tears in her eyes.

• She was in chains.

• The food was simple boiled lentils (without spices).

• And it was given in a specific way.

For five months and twenty-five days, he did not get food because these exact conditions were not fulfilled.

The Great Moment Arrives

A few days later, Dhanna Seth returned home and discovered what his wife had done. He felt very sad and decided to free Chandanbala.

Before fully freeing her, he gave her a small bowl of plain boiled lentils that he found in the kitchen.

At that exact time, Bhagwan Mahavir came to that area for gochari.

Chandanbala saw him and felt deep devotion. Even though she was very hungry, she decided to offer the food to him.

She offered the lentils, but Bhagwan Mahavir did not accept them at first because one condition was missing — tears had not yet fallen from her eyes.

When she realized she might lose this chance to serve such Bhagwan, tears of devotion rolled down her cheeks.

Now all conditions were fulfilled.

Bhagwan Mahavir accepted the food.

After exactly five months and twenty-five days of fasting, this was the first food he accepted.

"AHO DAANAM, AHO DAANAM!"

A New Beginning

Soon after, Chandanbala was completely freed. She later took diksha and became the first female disciple (Arya) of Bhagwan Mahavir.

She lived a life of discipline and spiritual practice and became highly respected among Jain sadhvis.

"BOLIYE ARYA CHANDANBALA JI KI JAI!"

FUN TIME

After listening to this story, we gave the kids 40 different situations where they had to guess whether the statement signified Mithyatva or Samyaktva.

The purpose was to make the kids understand both these concepts in a simple yet practical manner.

The best part? Every child turned out to be a winner! Their enthusiasm, confidence and smiles made the session truly special.

PS: PDF of the statements already shared in the WhatsApp group.

✨To conclude, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the parents for your continued support and for sending your children with such positive energy. We hope they are enjoying this beautiful journey of learning and living our Jain values.

Looking forward to another soulful session together!✨