Shivani Bothra
Vow Five:
I will practice religious toleration and not to rouse sectarian frenzy.
This fifth vow is very similar to the fourth vow, but here Tulsi is again modernizing by highlighting a specific issue in pluralistic Indian society: violence between inter-religious groups, and conflicts within intra-religious groups. Even more importantly, he is also promoting a secular viewpoint by calling not just on those outside the Jain community to emulate the Jains, but also challenging the members of his own community to raise awareness of their own prejudices.
A majority of my informants felt a compelling need to modify the vows. However, they did not give specific information on what these changes might be. 97 Rashmi Jhunjunwala, interview by Shivani Bothra, trans. Shivani Bothra, June 13, 2012.
Although situations have changed, problems of hatred and disregard for other sects remain. From my observations and several interactions with the Jains, I see issues of sectarianism and minor disputes prevalent even within Jainism. For example, some Svetambar guesthouses are not very open to allowing Digambar guests and vice versa. Whenever I raised a question regarding this issue, my informants rejected even acknowledging such disputes. How can one be an example to non-Jains to inspire tolerance for different religions when there is not even recognition of conflicts existing between their own Jain sects?
Further emphasizing Tulsi's untiring efforts to resolve sectarianism within Jainism one Anuvrati informant said: "Tulsi renounced consuming Mithai (Indian sweets) or anything which contained sugar as a penance in order to mitigate some of the sectarian differences prevailing within Jainism."[98] He never did have sweets for the remainder of his life. In Tulsi's view, his movement sought to develop an atmosphere of good will towards all religions. In this case, taking an oath for him was presenting a model for his own society to remind them to stay conscious of their own deficiencies as well. Though this example is well known as a part of the holiness for which Tulsi is revered, it is not clear that his renouncing sweets actually served to reduce sectarianism among Jains.
