The most important festival of Jainism i.e. “PARYUSHAN ” . One custom to be followed after the last day of Paryushan (Samvatsari) is that of saying “Michhami Dukkadam”. On Samvatsari day the ritual of “Pratikraman” is performed. Since “Samvatsari” is an annual event so is the Samvatsari Pratikraman. Under Samvatsari Pratikraman there comes the retrospection of all bad deeds and mistakes committed in the past year. We are critical of the bad deeds and resolve not to let them happen in the future. We also request forgiveness from all the living beings in the world if we might have knowingly or unknowingly caused harm to them. Thus, after the Pratikraman it is customary to request forgiveness from everyone we know and meet by saying “Michhami Dukkadam”. The idea behind it being that – “After requesting forgiveness from all living beings in general as part of Pratikraman, I do so one-to-one with you.” We become more specific and personal by doing so. In addition to requesting forgiveness, one has to grant forgiveness too. Thus by forgiving everyone and requesting forgiveness from all we ligthen ourselves and our mind from past year’s misdeeds.”Michchhami (Mithya) means fruitless / forgiven and Dukkadam (Dushkrit) means bad deeds. Therefore the meaning of Michchhami Dukkadam is’My bad deeds be fruitless’. So the idea behind conveying Michchhami Dukkadam is that if I have caused any harm to you then may those bad deeds be forgiven, become fruitless
” KHAMEMI SAVVE JIVA:- I forgive all the living beings
SAVVE JIVA KHAMANTU :- ME I seek pardon from all the living beings
MITTI ME SAVVA BHUTESU :- I am friendly towards all the living beings
VERAM MAJJHAM NA KENVI :- And seek enmity with none.
MICHHAMI DUKKADAM! Forgive me for my ignorance! Self-Realization: I am pure soul. I am not body. Concentrate on three spiritual jewels: Right Knowledge, Right Vision and Right Conduct. While meditating, exhale and inhale through the process, drawing our energy from the naval to head. Concentrate on endless virtues and attributes of our soul. The practice of meditation helps us to purify our mental state, to control our emotions of hatred, greed, etc., and feel eternal happiness and serenity.
Pls correct me if I am wrong in any of the explanations. I have tried to present it to the best of my knowledge and understanding.
(Article By : Atul Bafna )
Our friend Dinesh Shah has sent in his Michchami Dukkadam Messages to all the members of Samaj
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