Sunday, December 10, 2006

Jains and Moslems

...Oh yeah, I have a blog. Sorry everybody for the really long break, but we've been having computer issues. The computer at my new host house has gone AWOL, and my host father's been saying he'll buy a new one, but as promptness is not part of the Indian vocabulary, that probably won't take place in this century.
So anyway. I've just switched host families, and this is my new address:
Paresh Shah
3B, Ravi Chhaya
nr. Lourdes Convent School
Athwa Lines
Surat, 395007
My new family is Jain (pronounced "Jane"), which is a religion similar to Buddhism - but with much more emphasis on self-denial - that's quite popular here in Gujarat. In fact, the reason that Gujarat is predominantly vegetarian is thanks to the influence of the Jains, who don't believe in killing any living creature. Jain monks walk barefoot and tie a piece of cloth over their mouth in order to avoid accidentally inhaling any small insect that may want to fly in. In fact, strict Jains won't even eat potatoes, garlic or onions, and I have heard two explanations for this:
a) harvesting any of the above involves killing the plant that grows above it, or
b) they believe that these vegetables contain countless little lifeforms, and eating one would practically constitute genocide
Fortunately, my host mom is the only member of the family who believes this, and prepares potato, garlic and onion-containing food for her husband, my host sister Kanika, and myself. She's actually a great cook, which is impressive, considering her limited array of ingredients. I find that I'm missing meat less and less. (That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the beef jerky you sent me though, Taylor.)
Kanika and her aunt have taken me several times to a house where Jain holy women live, and these women are seriously amazing (or crazy, I haven't decided yet). They basically live their lives with a view to hurting the least lives possible, and sometimes take this to extreme levels. As they believe that electricity kills small creatures, they live without it, without even fans to cool them off in the boiling summer months. They own very few possesions - usually only what fits into the small bag they carry with them - and the furniture is very minimal, only a few wooden bedframes. Bathing takes place as rarely as possible (usually twice a year at most), due to the belief that water also contains millions of small creatures, which is also the reason that they never brush their teeth. They pluck out their hair every six months - minus scissors, this is done by hand - to avoid getting lice, as they bathe so rarely. If the women wish to travel, they walk (barefoot, of course), as trains and cars are practically small-insect serial killers. They spend their days studying holy books, praying, or simply saying the name of god over and over again. They eat only when the sun is out (actually, I'm not sure of the reason behind this) and go from home to home begging food. If no one gives them food, they take it as a sign that god did not want them to eat that day anyway.
Some of these women converted later in life, following their schooling, so I got a chance to talk to some who had studied English in school. They are really truly happy with their lives, and don't miss the outside world one bit. I think some of the things they do are rather impressive, though I can't quite relate to the whole hair-pulling-out thing.
Ok, this is getting quite lengthy, so I'll save part II for the next post...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Colleen, What an amazing experience you are having. My heart aches when I read your blogs. I wonder if there is some kind of exchange program for adults. Have you watched any of the Deepok Mehta films? There is a trilogy-Earth, Fire, Water. Great films. The second film in the trilogy is about partition. Becky crashed her car yesterday-she is fine. The front end is pretty smashed up. Merry Christmas. Love, Susan