I have seen people get over-exicted on their birthday. But I think that it is just the togetherness of body and soul which will change in every state. What is your opinion on this? What should one think about birthday?
How do you react on the birthday wishes?
Does wishing a Happy birthday to someone also leads to Karm bandh? Because people think that it is one of their biggest day.
A day to contemplate on where do I stand right now (since birth) on the path to mokṣa and whether I am making this precious birth and the opportunities count [व्यवहार]. On the other hand, one should also reflect on the fact that birth and death are names for association and dissociation of the soul from the body respectively. Neither of them is created, nor can be destroyed as such [परमार्थ].
Its customary. Not much to think about. Response is usually spontaneous. However, from what I have observed, one can plan to avoid this situation altogether -
follow basic Jaina rules of food habits - so no cakes, chocolates, drinks etc. as they definitely come under foods that involve ‘त्रस हिंसा’ (= violence towards two to five sensed creatures). To be clear, these foods many a times do involve certain emulsifiers which are / may be derived from animal sources (check here and here). So, no party, which cuts off half of the celebration, and I assume only mother or a sister or a brother can make a home-made cake (without the direct or indirect use of any of these emulsifiers) for you.
deactivate social media profiles two days in advance (better if one deletes them altogether!)
persuade your best friends to not post a birthday wish on WhatsApp status updates / Instagram or any such platform (people are too busy to remember a birthdate unless they are reminded of it via fb notifications etc.). Very few people remember your birthday; rest are reminded by the posts of these few people.
if it bothers a lot, one may stop wishing others on their birthdays / anniversaries. Eventually, people will understand and, in an ideal scenario, will respect your choice of not celebrating it at all.
P.S. Doing all of the above does not necessarily imply that life is gloomy. Besides its just one day, if one can stay indifferent, let people do what they wish to.
Yes, but many things lead to karma bandha - which includes this act of asking a question / writing an answer as well; the real question is, is this karma bandha (=of wishing someone on their birthday) significant enough for me to worry about in this stage when I have other gross levels of evils (=स्थूल पाप) to be taken care of?