Jaina religious practices are Deva-Puja (Worship of Jina), Guru-Upasti (proximity or scriptures), Sanyam (practice of self control), Tapa (penance) and Dana (Charity). We Jainas should practise these six essentials daily. these are essentially performed by the Jainas, so these are known as "Essentials"

Ma, my friends ask that if  the true practice of Ahimsa and Satya lie in living our daily lives, then why go to temple and why pray and worship ?

Oh my child, our idols of Tirthankaras in the temples remind us of the nature of Reality. They inspire us to make spiritual progress. During worship, we are happy and relaxed, we enjoy peace of mind.

Worship or prayer of supreme souls is Deva-Puja. Supreme souls are arihantas and Siddhas. Jainas worship or pray before the idols of Tirthankaras (the supreme souls). The procedure of prayer or worship (Puja-vidhi) has been outlined in religious books. While we are doing puja, we remember the virtues of Supreme Souls. We recite their virtues and we bow down before their idols with deep devotion. During the puja, we should have good thoughts and feelings.

All those monks who practise the teachings of Jaina religion are spiritual Gurus. We Jainas should achieve proximity or nearness with the Guru and always feel their presence in our lives with respect. This is called Guru-Upasti. Our spiritual Gurus have control over their passions and preach the teachings of religion through practices. Thus, Gurus are spiritually ahead of the house-holders.

The study of scriptures preached by "Jina" is Sastra-Svadhyaya. We Jainas should study the scriptures and religious books daily. its purpose is to enrich the knowledge or the right path; to practise sympathy and compassion to all; and to refine our moral and spiritual efforts. Svadhyaya is also helpful for educating our youngsters, friends and others.

Self control means not having bad thoughts, anger, greed, jealousy or hatred. So, we Jainas should practise self control on our thoughts and activities as far as possible. Wantlessness should be our goal of life. We should minimise our desires and passions and regulate our daily necessities which would save us from exploitations and committing crimes. We should control our diet and other worldly pleasures. Self control gives us self-satisfaction and inner fulfillment.

Tapa or penance is a control on desires. It disintegrates our karmas of bad deeds and induces us to dissociate from bad habits. Penance gives us self-confidence and develops our will-power to do good. So, we Jainas should perform some penance every day. penance can be external like fasting (Upavasa) and internal like reverence (Vinaya), meditation etc.

All religions highly praise the virtue of the charity or donation. Every body agrees that helping others in cash or kind is admirable. In Jainism, Charity or donation is Dana, which means giving one's wealth for mutual benefits. So, the donation to poor ad needy persons should be with compassion and to the monks with reverence. A donor should not have any desire for material gains from the donations and should draw joy in giving. Actually, charity is self-sacrifice. In Jainism charity is of four kinds-donation of food (Ahara-dana); donation of medicine (Ausadha-dana), donation of books or education (Jnana dana) and giving protection or freedom from fear (Abhaya-dana or Avasa-dana).

My child, by proper practice of six essentials, we improve our faith and knowledge. It makes us a better individual. It helps us to love all and serve all.