Michhami Dukkadam

My good friend M is Jain. Through her, I came across this wonderful phrase. My understanding is that Jains celebrate a festival called "Paryushana" over a period of eight to ten days (depending on your Jain sect). On the last day, they have this spiritual cleansing where they say this phrase to all whom they know. The essence of the phrase is "On this auspicious occasion of Paryushan we wish you all Michhami Dukkadam!  We beg your forgiveness from the bottom of our hearts for whatever misdeeds or misbehaviour, whether knowingly or unknowingly done by us to you through mind, thoughts, actions or speech during the past year. This is the whole "Kshamapana Sutra" with meaning 


KHAAMEMI SAVVE JEEVA (I grant forgiveness to all living beings) 
SAVVE JEEVA KHAMANTU ME (May all living beings grant me forgiveness) 
METTI ME SAVVE BHUYESU (My friendship is with all living beings) 
VAIRAM MAJHAM NA KENAI (My enemy is totally non-existent) 

MICHHAMI DUKKADAM 

I was struck by the beautiful simplicity of this spiritual practice and upon reading further, I came to understand that almost every human religion calls for some kind of forgiveness from fellow living beings. How appropriate is this in our lives in this day and age? If only we could all make this part of our daily ritual, so many issues will be resolved. The cause for many modern diseases are now being attributed to deep-seated and unresolved hurt that we all collect over the course of our lifetime. Sometimes, this hurt is generations old, from various ancestors and passed on through your parents. The Cholesterol drug-maker "Vytorin" has it right.....some of that high cholesterol is from your eating habits and some is from your extended family! How nice it would be if everyday we entertain these stresses for a small amount time, acknowledge them and then set them free? We forgive others even as we ask for forgiveness. Everything renews and we begin with a clean slate every single time.

I met a gentleman during a yoga seminar that I attended. He says that most of us collect all this stress in our gut area, which is why our cores get weak over time and we acquire our well-rounded bellies, which are so hard to get rid of. Ever notice how we start breathing shallow and our stomach tightens when we are in or reliving a difficult emotional situation? Bingo!....gut is receiving and storing not unwanted fat, but unwanted stress. The same can be said about people trying to get the six/eight/twelve pack abs. These efficient souls are trying to organize their stress into a smaller space so they can receive more stress. 

So keep breathing big belly breaths my friends and to each and every one of you, I say a sincere "Michhami Dukkadam".