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Journalism of Courage
THE resolve in his light brown eyes is almost fearsome as he tries to mug up yet another Sanskrit shloka. 8216;8216;I don8217;t know what8217;s happening today,8217;8217; the 13-year-old says. He has been clothed only in white since he became a balmuni six months ago, taking diksha from a renowned acharya.
As he immerses himself in a book sitting in the second-floor lobby of a Jain ashram in the temple town of Palitana in Gujarat, Ksheelrakshit is determination personified. His tutor says the particular shloka is difficult, normally he learns them in no time.
8216;8216;His assimilation is complete,8217;8217; Chandrashekhar-surishwarji Maharaj says of the balmuni. His mother came down to meet him but he refused to look at her, bringing her to tears. 8216;8216;That is all past,8217;8217; the balmuni says.
At a nearby ashram, five-year-old Malay Shimoni is undergoing training that will lead to his diksha in a few years. He can8217;t recite mantras but he is prepared to become a balmuni. 8216;8216;If he does not become a muni, I will feel bad,8217;8217; says his doting mother, wife of a rich Mumbai-based goldsmith. Many in her family have taken diksha in the past, it8217;s only natural that her son follows suit.
Eight-year-old Rajat Varma is another prospective balmuni being trained at Ayodhyapuram near Bhavnagar. Yet to be initiated, he has already travelled 500 km on foot with acharyas. On initiation, vehicles will be out of his reach for ever. 8216;8216;Don8217;t all children give up milk on growing up?8217;8217; he asks.
They certainly don8217;t look like subjects of a controversy in the Jain community, which finds itself defending the practice of baldiksha from time to time. The opposition to baldiksha is not new. Sayajirao Gaekwad of the erstwhile Baroda state had banned it way back in 1931, and made initiation before 18 an offence punishable with a year8217;s jail term or a fine of Rs 1,000. The VHP also opposed it in Alwar a few years ago but lost the case.
Unfazed by such controversies, boys are initiated into monkhood in the rich Jain derasars across Gujarat and Rajasthan. The balmunis, their families and the acharyas who initiate them are proud of the practice they say began in the time of Mahavir himself. 8216;8216;History proves all great religious leaders were initiated at an early age because young minds grasp more. Those who matter are not against it, those who are against it don8217;t matter,8217;8217; says an acharya, labelling the critics 8216;8216;publicity-hungry8217;8217;.
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Six months ago, Ksheel-rakshit was captaining his school8217;s cricket team. Now, his acharya says, 8216;his assimilation is complete.8217; He wouldn8217;t speak to his mother when she came down
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The opponents argue that children are initiated when they are not in a position to make decisions. They say some parents make it a prestige issue and sacrifice their children for their own glory. Interestingly, the allegation that money influences the initiation is used by both the sides. The opponents say parents are given money by religious leaders who need numbers to stake claim to acharyahood. Proponents say some parents allow initiation and demand money to keep their child with the acharya, and, in so doing, malign the practice further.
The Supreme Court recently took up a petition by Indore-based Ramesh Varma, who alleged his son was being sexually assaulted and kept against his wishes in a Jain temple in Gujarat. Dhurveshchandrasagar, the name his son Bhupendra Varma took on his initiation three years ago, denies the allegation and accuses his father of resorting to blackmail.
Viragchandrasagar, 27, who took diksha 14 years ago, says spiritually and otherwise he feels much better than his friends. 8216;8216;Their happiness is temporary, for they depend on others and tools like money or television,8217;8217; he says. Impressed, Viragchandrasagar8217;s father also followed suit.
The acharyas defend the regimented life of munis, saying only vairagya can make an individual happy. Besides, rules and rituals are based on science, they say. Sagarchandra of Jambudwip asks: 8216;8216;When parents decide their two-year-old will grow up to become a doctor, what8217;s wrong if they choose the spiritual path.8217;8217;
There are times when the balmunis long for their lost childhood. 8216;8216;We are liberal in the first couple of years. We don8217;t expect them to strictly adhere to rules like we do,8217;8217; says Indrajitvijayji, 42, who took diksha when he was seven. 8216;8216;It8217;s neither suppression nor submission but sublimation of desires.8217;8217; As a child he used to be tempted but overcame his desires as he grew. 8216;8216;The notion that we lead a monotonous and regimented life is wrong.8217;8217;
