Ananya Jain shares his experiences of following a strict discipline of Das Laskhan/Paryushan to find inner peace, and how the learnings still continue to help him even today — and can do the same for you too
In 2019, I decided that in the year 2020, come what may, I will follow the 10 days of annual Jain religious fasting – Das Lakshan Parv/Paryushan. It is similar to Ramadan or Lent but, in my opinion, a lot more extreme - I have to sacrifice food in any shape or form for 10 days, along with several lifestyle sacrifices.
Until 2019, for these 10 days each year, for almost 2 decades, I followed strict religious guidelines that include lifestyle and dietary restrictions in some capacity. Almost every year, I did not eat anything for the first and last day of the festival. I ate only one meal for the 8 days in between and limited the use of unnecessary resources like water, commercial products, clothes, and transportation mode.
The idea was to put myself through the test, a test to take control of life, a test of my willpower, a test of my emotional strength, a test of my mental strength, and a test of my inner soul.
On August 20, I decided to move forward with the decision. In a panic, my family, concerned about me, subtly tried to convince me to change my decision without demotivating me. Their biggest concern was how I would pull it off all alone in the middle of the pandemic. They were concerned if they would be allowed to travel across three continents to be with me.
The religious books have strict guidelines on how to help a person who decides to fast for 10 days. Usually, this person gets Ghee (unsaturated butter made from cow's milk) massage, narrations of religious stories, and several opportunities to be in God's presence at the temple. None of it was possible in the USA, with no family around or a temple nearby. My decision did not change.
Along with vowing to fast for 10 days with only drinking water once a day, I decided to leave many lifestyle comforts and adopted an extremely minimalistic way of living.
For ten days, I tracked away from worldly discussions and focused on the ten virtues that represent each day of the festival:
Uttam Kshama (Supreme forbearance)
Uttam Mardava (Supreme modesty)
Uttam Aarjava (straightforwardness)
Uttam Shoch (Supreme purity)
Uttam Satya (Supreme truth)
Uttam Sanyam (supreme restraint)
Uttam Tap (Supreme austerity)
Uttam Tyaga (Supreme renunciation)
Uttam Aakinchanya (Supreme non-attachment)
Uttam Brahmcharya (Supreme celibacy) - उत्तम बह्मचर्य
Days 1 to 3
I knew day one was going to be easy. I have kept a single-day fast for several years now. Like every year, I woke up at 6 am to offer prayers to God. I knew I am preparing for a marathon, and it is not a sprint; hence I had stopped any physical activity or unnecessary conversations. This was an effort to preserve my energy.
I worked regular hours, and to my surprise, I was feeling light and comfortable even on Day 3. This is when the mental block that I may not complete the fast has vanished. I was feeling confident to march forward. I made sure that I drank 2 liters of water (only allowed once a day) from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. This is something I followed until the last day.
Because I was alone at home, I watched TV - one hour of religious stuff – understanding the ten virtues. I also enjoyed an entertaining Bollywood movie. My last activity for a day was to conduct more religious prayers to God before going to sleep. I had noticed that I started feeling more comfortable sleeping on my stomach then my back.
Day 4 onwards
Because of COVID, no one from my family was with me. Instead of bothering them to travel, I decided that I would travel to my sister's place. So, I made a 7-hour journey on Day 4 of fasting. This turned out to be a perfect distraction. Time flew by fairly quickly. Being with my sister, brother in law, and my 1-year-old nephew was a refreshing change. So Day 5 and all days after were good that way.
There were two significant disadvantages of being with people –
They were cooking and eating, so the smell of food would drive me nuts on the 5th day. I was talking a lot more with my sister, and in turn, losing some precious energy. From day 6, the presence of food around me did not make any difference. I grew over it eventually and realized how strong my commitment and my willpower are.
Days 6 to 8
These were days with the least temptation. I was in full control of my consciousness. I got much more spiritual. I got aware of my inner strength, my soul, my pure thoughts. I felt light. My afternoon naps had increased, and I started avoiding TV and any other noises. I had started reading more about the virtues of each day. These were the days when fasting had cleaned not only my body but also my mind. My thoughts were controlled and streamlined.
I had two fundamental awareness – There is no need to over-communicate things. If we can accomplish something with minimum effort, then we must target that. Our lives have become stressful for things that are not even that important. To live, the fundamental thing required is to continue to breathe. Next comes water and food, then shelter and clothes. These are the basics.
Day 8 was special. My parents managed to travel from India to be with me. The next couple of days went by easily. Mom's pampering and Dad's support can ease out the biggest challenges of your life.
Day 10
My family arranged for a virtual event to celebrate the last day. I was filled with emotions. I used all my energy, interacted with family and friends, danced and participated in live music. The most challenging part of my 10-day journey were these final few hours. I now knew that I had accomplished my task. I literally made a list of 32 items that I would want to eat.
Day 11
After coming back from the temple, I was ready to break my fast. But as part of the ritual, I was asked to commit to two things before consuming food again- — donate to a cause and sacrifice one thing (duration and thing did not matter).
Identifying a cause for donation was easy. I have always thought of kids and homeless foundations as something I like to be associated with. To sacrifice something was a big deal. I committed to quit drinking for a year.
Thinking of sacrificing it for a year made me nervous. I thought it through, and decided to commit. And to my surprise, after the first outing with friends, the awkwardness of being a teetotaller was out of the window. I felt good that I can still be me. This became a new normal, which is equally fantastic.
Afterword
For approximately a week, I was eating too little. Very much on a semi-solid diet. After 1 week, I gradually started ingesting regular food. But my appetite was less than half of my normal appetite In 2 weeks, I had started a regular diet. In a month, I checked all 32 items that I had listed I was craving to eat.
I became the first guy in my Dad's five generations to keep this fast. Indeed, it was a beautiful and very enlightening experience.
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(Ananya Jain is Co-Chair of Young Jain Professionals (YJP).
