The Anuvrat Movement: Theory and Practice: Vow 11

Vow 11:

I will be alert to the problems of keeping the environment pollution-free; I will not cut down trees and not waste water.

The final vow is also under the category of ahimsa but expands the concept further by including nature as well. Regarding the final vow, it seems Tulsi draws inspiration from Mahavira's theory of "interdependence;" i.e., all living beings render service to one another. According to Mahavira, "One who neglects or disregards the existence of earth, air, fire, water and vegetation disregards his own existence which is entwined with them."^[105]

The practice of Anuvrat vows is a stark contrast to the resource intensive, consumerist lifestyle. The vow of not cutting trees is in accord with many environmental movements such as the Chipko Movement discussed in the previous chapter, but how many urban dwellers in India or the United States are in a position to cut trees? In examining this vow, I felt that it inadequately prohibits those actions that are the most common ways in which individual Anuvratis might be damaging the environment. For example: If it is wrong to cut trees, is it wrong to buy wood products? What kind of wood products should be avoided? What kind of awareness exists among the society regarding the use of paper?

Another contemporary example that comes to mind, because it falls under the category of waste, is the extravagance of food and resources involved in the wedding and related ceremonies of the affluent classes of Indian society. Therefore, I asked some of my informants about Tulsi's views regarding this issue and found that, during Tulsi's time, strong measures were taken within the Terapanth tradition to overcome such prodigal habits. One such example was the limiting of the number of choices of food items from hundreds to 25 per meal. The tradition of the offering of hundreds of types of food items at a wedding was done sometimes out of a personal desire to display wealth and often out of social pressure, but Tulsi again worked to bring awareness to the harm that lack of self-restraint can cause to the environment.

Some of the early Anuvrati considered his advice, however, the tradition is deeply rooted in Indian culture and the force of such measure seems to have weakened over time and evidently getting worse. Recently, there was an article in the leading newspaper, Times of India, titled "Wedding Food Worth 339 Crore Goes Waste." It gave reference of a study by a team of 10 professors from the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore. The study concluded:

The team, under the guidance of UAS vice-chancellor K. Narayana Gowda, surveyed 75 of Bangalore's 531 marriage halls over a period of six months. They concluded: About 84,960 marriages are held at 531 kalyana mantapas (marriage halls) in Bangalore every year. About 943 tonnes of high-calorie quality food is wasted in these halls annually. At an average cost of Rs 40 per meal, the total food wastage in the city is estimated at Rs 339 crore.^[106]

My own experience of attending Jain weddings also supports this viewpoint. While food waste at weddings is just one example causing environmental deterioration, it demonstrates the significance of the 11th vow, and also underlines a need for some reforms to make the vow more relevant in contemporary times.

The last part of the 11th vow is to use water wisely. The vow related to the usage of water is a practical application, though a difficult one to measure. What kind of toilets and showerheads do people buy? How often do they wash their cars or water their lawns? These are big water wasting activities. A BBC news article from 2009, titled "India's Water Use Unsustainable," noted the finding of a study conducted for six years: "Parts of India are on track for severe water shortages, according to results from Nasa's gravity satellites. The Grace mission discovered that in the country's northwest - including Delhi - the water table is falling by about 4cm (1.6 inches) per year."^[107] The above example is one of countless such studies conducted at both governmental and other institutional levels that apparently conveys the problems of water usage. In order to be relevant and effective, should the vows aim at ongoing contemporary issues, such as water usage, in world society? Since the Terapanth community is the genesis of the movement, it holds a key responsibility for demonstrating the exemplary behavior of conserving resources for the rest of the society. Belonging to the same tradition, it has become apparent to me in my ongoing research that the community itself needs to rethink some of its strategies of the excessive use of paper involved in publishing and promoting the Terapanth activities.