Of religion and volunteerism

Aradhana Samdariya's death took me back to my memories of "growing up", characterised by marks of being raised in a religious Jain family. My first memory of an explicit interface with religion, outside of home, was being taken to the temple for puja. Jainism, I would later learn, is a religion that does not believe in the existence of god/gods. And yet, it has 'gods' to pray to.

I was bathed and given a new set of clothes, kept separate since that day, only for this purpose. I could not eat or enter the toilet while wearing them or they would be defiled.

By the time I was eight, Paryushan (a week-long festival two months after Chaturmas, which coincides with monsoon) became another period of worship. Seeing my family elders fast, I was inspired and started with ekasna – a day-long fast. I was in Class VIII. My mother and aunt were fasting for a week. I'm sure they will claim I observed my first fast out of "choice". Though not really difficult, I remember dreaming of my favourite pulpy orange drink.

By next year, I was fasting for a week. The indoctrination had begun. Like other children in the community, I was also sent to paathshaala – a religious school or the Jain equivalent of madarasa. A 50-year-old woman taught us the dos and don'ts of being a good Jain. I particularly remember an instance of being shown pictures in a book of humans cut into pieces, fried in oil, and so on – a depiction of Hell.

Chaturmas celebrations were marked by a contest. We were given a card with a grid. The first column had sub-heads such as "performed puja", "went to the temple", "didn't eat at night", "did charity", etc. Each of these was linked to points, and the sum total of all would fetch us gifts based on our final score. This practice still continues.

I go into these micro details to refute claims of those who say Aradhana Samdariya's death was an accident, and she fasted voluntarily. No, she did not. Just like I, and every other child around me I knew, did not. The fast was based on indoctrination, built on how one would fare in the next life; rewards given on the basis of "how religious one was". Ironically, I have been told that my birth in a Jain family is because of good deeds in my past life.

"You are lucky to be born in the best religion in the world."

Without elaborating another controversial but related topic — santhara, or fast unto death — I refer to the arguments presented in a recent case, Nikhil Soni versus Union of India by the state of Rajasthan. The state made a distinction between "religion as practiced under coercion" and "religious practice". Religious imposition of every Jain family on its children is an act of coercion. Aradhana Samdariya's fast of 68 days, too, was an act of coercion by the entire community.

Instances of inter-religious and inter-caste marriage are extremely rare among Jains and hence an average practicing Jain does not experience any other culture. There are other instances, almost everyday occurrences, which go unchallenged. A girl is not allowed to say no to a temple visit, a boy is not allowed to have a meat-eating friend (forget choosing to eat meat, which would be blasphemy), but a 68-day fast by a 13-year-old is considered voluntary, because a monk tells her father that his business will flourish this way.

Aradhana's death calls for a relook at all the practices of "secularism" with respect to Jains. Jainism has a culture of men and women, boys and girls taking deeksha, almost like sanyas, and sacrificing all material wants, needs and desires. There have been multiple instances of young boys and girls, even under the age of 15, who have been accepted into this fold.

Exactly how voluntary is this? This incident also calls for a re-examination of the relationship between the state and the religion, especially one like Jainism, which also enjoys the benefits of being a minority religion and hence is able to conserve and preserve its "culture". This is hardly a culture in Jainism we need to preserve.

All views expressed are of the writer. He is a poet and student of the ILS Law College