Digambara is one of the two main divisions of the Jain tradition (see JAINISM). It literally means
“those wearing the sky as a garment,” a refer- ence to the complete nudity of the monks of this
Digambara 133 J
branch. The Digambara Jains, who are relatively few in number, are concentrated in the south of India, while the SHVETAMBARAS (those wearing white garments) are concentrated in the west and north.
The Digambaras hold that during a famine in the north around 300 B.C.E., the teacher BHADRAB-
AHU led a group of Jain monks southward to Kar- nataka. Years later, when he and his community returned north, they were shocked to find that the community of monks had deviated from the true tradition and had begun to wear white garments.
The Digambara Jains believe that all of the origi- nal texts of the Jains, the PURVAS and the ANGAS, were completely lost; any text claimed by the Shvetambaras is at best a corruption of the origi- nal knowledge. (The Shvetambaras also accept that the Purvas have been lost.) Both groups agree that Bhadrabahu was the last to know all the original texts.
The oldest Digambara sacred text is Shat- khandagama, “Scripture of six parts,” written in Prakrit. It is said to have been composed by the monk Dharasena (c. second century C.E., who summoned two monks, Pushpadanta and Bhuta- bali, to a cave to record scriptural knowledge that he feared was dwindling away; the pair later put together the Kasayapahuda, “Treatise on passion.”
These two texts constitute the earliest and most sacred Digambara scripture. Another very impor- tant text for Digambaras is the Tattvarthasutra,
“Aphorisms on the meaning of the constituent aspects of the universe” by the monk Umasvati.
This text, coincidentally, is the only Digambara text that is also accepted by the Shvetambaras.
It appears that the differences between the two branches of Jain tradition are due to their separate development, rather than to any direct disputa- tion. The most important difference concerns the nudity of Digambara monks. Digambaras under- stand that if a monk is to be truly possessionless and therefore truly detached, he (there are no female monks) must not possess even a garment.
Following this rigorous logic Digambara monks
were never allowed to carry even begging bowls and were forced to beg only with their hands.
Doctrinally, this concept has consequences for the potential of women to become liberated from the cycle of rebirth. Since women cannot take the final step into nudity, Digambaras judge that females cannot reach liberation until born in a male body.
Shvetambaras think that women can reach liberation in the female body. In fact Mallinatha, one of the TIRTHANKARAS, enlightened teachers, is understood by the Shvetambaras to be female, and by the Digambaras to be male. This is the only dis- agreement in the lists of Tirthankaras maintained by the two sects.
Until this day, there is little interchange between these two divisions of Jains, even though they share most of their doctrines. They have actively contended against each other for control of several important shrines in India, and in cer- tain localities they are not on good terms. Gener- ally, however, where both are present they tolerate each other, although they do not mix in festivals or in other spiritual contexts.
Further reading: Paul Dundas, The Jains (London:
Routledge, 1992); P. S. Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purifica- tion (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990); U. K. Jain, Jaina Sects and Schools (Delhi: Concept, 1975).
diksha
A diksha is an initiation, of which there are many sorts in the Hindu context. For instance, many sects and traditions require the transmission of a
MANTRA to members, in some cases by one’s father, in other cases by the GURU. Most mendicant orders require a formal ordination that involves a ritual that is also called a diksha. A SANNYASI, one who renounces the world, is required to undergo a dik- sha that includes rituals usually done at a person’s cremation after death. The Hindu ceremony at which the SACRED THREAD is invested on young boys is also formally called a diksha.
K 134 diksha
A person may quite easily undergo several dikshas during his or her lifetime. TANTRIC prac- titioners, for instance, will almost always have an initiation after leaving their original traditions and a second one when entering a tantric circle.
Further reading: Sanjukta Gupta, Dirk Jan Hoens, and Teun Goudriaan, Hindu Tantrism (Leiden: Brill, 1979);
Brian K. Smith, “Ritual, Knowledge and Being: Initia- tion and Veda Study in Ancient India,” Numen 33, no.
1 (1986): 65–89.
Dinshah, H. Jay
(1933–2000) leader in vegetarian movement in United StatesH. Jay Dinshah was an American proponent of the vegan diet. He buttressed his arguments with Hindu concepts of nonviolence and respect for animals.
H. Jay Dinshah was born in Malaga, New Jersey, on November 2, 1933, and raised as a lactovegetar- ian by his parents, Irene Grace Hoger Dinshah and Dinshah P. Ghadiali, an Indian who immigrated from Bombay (Mumbai) to the United States in 1911. Ghadiali was a scientist and health educator and an early advocate of the vegetarian lifestyle.
He educated his son on the value of a vegetarian diet from the time he was a small child. The boy was home-schooled by both parents.
When Dinshah was 23, out of curiosity, he visited a slaughterhouse on Front Street in Philadel- phia. His wife, Freya Smith Dinshah, later recalled that the experience changed his life forever. In 1956 Dinshah read the influential book Why Kill for Food?
by Geoffrey L. Rudd, published by the Vegetarian Society in England. Dinshah became an advocate of vegetarianism and sold copies of the book via clas- sified ads. After reading literature from the Vegan Society in England, Dinshah stopped consuming dairy products and refused to wear leather. In 1957, he became a vegan, restricting himself to fruits, veg- etables, salads, legumes, and nuts.
Dinshah founded the American Vegan Society in 1960 and served as its president for 40 years.
His efforts contributed to the steady growth of veganism throughout North America. Individuals seeking knowledge on veganism were welcome to stay at his home as long as a month to learn the ethics of veganism and ways to maintain a healthy diet. In the mid-1970s, the society purchased an office building in Malaga, New Jersey, and expanded its services.
Dinshah rooted the American Vegan Society in the doctrine of AHIMSA, a Sanskrit concept mean- ing no killing, no injury, and no harm, which was central to the work of both Mohandas Karam- chand GANDHI and JAINISM. Dinshah did not view veganism as a mere dietary choice, but rather as an ethical responsibility to all living creatures. He taught the principles of ahimsa through an ana- gram: (1) abstinence from animal products; (2) harmlessness with reverence for life; (3) integrity of thought and deed; (4) mastery over oneself;
(5) service to humanity, nature, and creation; (6) advancement of understanding and truth.
Dinshah was an accomplished orator and writer. He gave lectures and talks around the world on veganism and the mistreatment of animals. In 1975 he helped organize the World Vegetarian Congress at the University of Maine.
He authored and self-published several books and was also chief editor of the American Vegan Society’s periodical Ahimsa, which is now called American Vegan. He died on June 8, 2000.
Further reading: Freya Dinshah, The Vegan Kitchen (Malaga, N.J.: American Vegan Society, 1987); Jay H.
Dinshah, Out of the Jungle (Malaga, N.J.: American Vegan Society, 1968); ———, Song of India (Surrey, England: Vegan Society, 1973); ———, Steps in Vege- tarianism (Malaga, N.J.: American Vegan Society, 1993);
William Harris and Freya Dinshah, Veganism: Getting Started (Malaga, N.J.: American Vegan Society, 1998).
Divali
(Dipavali)Divali may be the most popular Indian festival.
Unlike some other festivals, such as RAM LILA, it Divali 135 J
is celebrated in all parts of India. It starts on the 14th day of the lunar month of Ashvayuja and extends to the second day of the lunar month of Kartikka. It usually falls around the end of Octo- ber and the beginning of November.
The origin of the festival of Divali cannot be traced, but it is known to be at least 1,000 years old. As a “festival of lights” it resembles many other festivals in the world with quite ancient roots. On the first day of the festival one makes an offering to the god of death, YAMA, after pray- ing for expiation of sins. One lights a lamp to “the underworld” where Yama lives. After feasting, rows of lamps are lighted in the evening on ledges and external places of houses. Temples and public places are also illuminated the same way. On the second day LAKSHMI, the goddess of wealth, is worshipped; in Bengal KALI is worshipped instead.
Lights are also lit on this day, when late at night a huge racket is created with drums and such to drive away Alakshmi, Lakshmi’s (or Kali’s) inaus- picious counterpart. In fact, by tradition every day of Divali is filled with the sounds of firecrackers.
The third day is devoted to the unusual wor- ship of a demon, BALI, the demon king who was vanquished by VISHNU. One is to stay awake the whole night. On the day of Bali it is common for people to gamble, since many believe that this was the day that PARVATI defeated her husband, SHIVA, in a game of dice. On this third day cows and bulls are also worshipped, as is a pile of food that rep- resents the hill Govardhana, which KRISHNA lifted to protect his people from storm. People also pass under a rope of grass tied to a pole and tree in order to assure safe journeys. The final day is a brother and sister day, when brothers are invited to the homes of their sisters for feasting.
Further reading: Jagadisa Ayyar, South India Festivities (Madras: Higginbothams, 1921); M. P. Bezbaruah, with Krishna Gopal and Phal S. Girota, eds., Fairs and Fes- tivals of India, 5 vols. (Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, 2003); H. V. Shekar, Festivals of India: Significance of the Celebrations (Louisville, Ky.: Insight Books, 2000).