Deccan Herald

Mangalore, Feb 11: “There was a time when a large number people belonging to Jain community existed. However, a number of them have been converted and gone out of Jainism,” said ‘revolutionary’ ascetic Acharya Tarun Sagar Muni. Speaking to media persons at “Veera Bhavan,” the house belonging to Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade, where the seer has been taking rest for the past couple of days, in Mangalore on Saturday, he said that he visited Mangalore by chance after he fell ill at Dharmasthala.

Expressing his surprise over the fact that no ‘digambar muni’ had visited the region for the past 25 years, he was all praise for Karnataka. “Kar-na-(a) tak matlab ‘karm kar par isme math atak...’ (do your service but don’t expect anything in return),” he said and added that he wished he could address the public before he leaves Mangalore.

He also said that he never stayed in any state for more than a year except Karnataka. The seer had arrived in Karnataka (Belgaum) in July 2005 and stayed in Belgaum till December 2005 (the Jain seers don’t travel in rainy season). Later, he attended the Mahamastakabhisheka in Shravanabelagola and then moved to Bangalore where again he stayed back for another Chaturmasa so that he could attend the Mahamastakabhisheka at Dharmasthala.

As he fell sick in Dharmasthala, he was brought in a ‘doli’ to Mangalore last week. To a query, he said he is planning to go to Maharashtra from Mangalore.

Food habit

The seer who had invited the media persons to see how the seer takes food at “Veera Bhavan,” the house belonging to Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade, where the seer has been taking rest, said that a large number of people see the seer only when he is in the public. “I request you to make public the Jain seers’ routine life, the way how they take food and how they live.

Around 10 am, the seer gets ready to take the food - the only time he takes the food in a day after which he never takes even a drop of water.

After a prayer, the seer with his right hand on his shoulder arrives at a platform (meant for the seer to have food) and stands on it. While arriving, he decides what food to have and what not.

If the food what he decided (sankalp) is not there, he will not accept it and such items will be removed. (If no food what he decided is there, he will have to fast for the entire day).

Then the seer will spread his palm and a group of about 8 to 10 people keep the food on his palm and he takes it.

However, if by chance he finds a hair or fly or if he hears babies or animals cry, he will end the food then and there itself. Once he is finished, he will take water, brush his teeth and breaks his silence.

The seer takes food only once in a day, irrespective of healthy or sick.