Mumbai: As the week-long festival of Paryushan ends with Samvatsari, a Jain group has asked community members to go on a digital detox and observe ‘No Whatsapp Day’ to commemorate the festival. The initiative aims to detach people from social media and spend more time with their family and friends.
Paryushan, the most important festival in Jainism which stressed on introspection, confession and charity, started from August 31 and ends on Saturday with the festival of Samvatsari. The observances include fasting, studying the scriptures, prayers, and meditation during the eight-day long festival. However, a Jain organisation has launched a novel initiative for the community to celebrate the Paryushan in the digitally-driven world.
No WhatsApp Day On Samvatsari
Cutchi Visha Oswal Chartered and Cost Accountants Association (CVO CCAA) has requested people to observe ‘No WhatsApp Day’ on Samvatsari in a bid to detach people from the excessive use of social media. CVO CCAA is a group of over 2,500 chartered accountants (CA), company secretaries (CS) and cost management accountants (CMA) from the Kutchi Visha Oswal (KVO) Jain community. The association’s campaign asks community members to refrain from using WhatsApp on the day of Samvatsari and utilise the time in focusing on religion and personal self.
The initiative is the brainchild of Vinit Gada, the president of CVO CCAA, who has been observing Paryushan for a last few years by restricting the use of internet. “Earlier life used to be mentally peaceful and sice social media and particularly WhatsApp has come in our lives, it has become an addiction. Paryushan is a festival to focus on religion and spirituality but WhatsApp diverts our attention therefore we to start with our digital detox campaign, we have asked people to refrain from using WhatsApp on Samvatsari,” said Gada.
The association’s ultimate aim is to detach people from excessive use of social media and the internet but it has started with a small initiative requesting people to not use WhatsApp for one day. It plans to upgrade the level every year until people stop using internet for the entire period of Paryushan for eight days.
The campaign is receiving widespread support from different Jain subcommunities as community leaders are coming forward and asking people to participate in the initiative. So far, the KVO Deravasi, KVO Sthanakvasi, KVO Seva Samaj, Kutch Yuvak Sangh, Kutchi Jain Foundation and other organisations have extended support for the initiative.
CA Vignesh Bheda, president of KVO Sthanakvasi Jain community, said, “In today’s life filled with hustle and stress, this symbolic initiative can help attain mental peace. The KVO Sthanakvasi Jain community has supported this initiative and requested the community members to stay away from WhatsApp for a day and spend that time in self contemplation.”
