5 Celibacy and Salvation in the Swaminarayan Movement Rohit Barot University of Bristol
Introduction In his analysis of religion as an institution in pre-modern and modern world, Max Weber regarded the relationship of religion to sexuality, especially the connection between religious belief and celibacy, as one of the most important issues affecting the conduct of followers of great religious traditions like Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism (Weber, 1964: 223–245). Preservation of celibacy as a value is a central theme in the Hindu belief system as a basis for self-knowledge and salvation and, therefore, receives both textual and contextual attention. However, this link between religious belief and celibacy is not peculiar to Hinduism only. The question of celibacy came very much to the forefront in Britain in 1996, when the issue hit headlines in the mass media as the papers reported that Bishop of Argyll and Isles, Right Reverend Roderick Wright, had disappeared with a 40-year-old divorcee Mrs MacPhee, a mother of three children aged 24, 18 and 15. The event brought into sharp focus the disparity between the Roman Catholic norms of celibacy and a Bishop whose personal life did not conform to these norms (Cramb, 1996; Muir, 1996; Randall and Combe , 1996; Wilson, 1996). This particular incident as well as others in the past have stimulated a debate in Catholicism about whether or not priests should maintain celibacy as a sacred vow. The question of maintaining celibacy in uncertain modern times is not only a central issue in Roman Catholic Church. It is a theme that emerges as a critical focus in Hinduism and Buddhism. This chapter examines celibacy among the Hindus generally. In particular, it focuses on the Swaminarayan movement which consists of a number of different 74
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sects. Observing celibacy is an essential condition for salvation for male and female renouncers of the Swaminarayan movement. This concern with sexual self-control is in sharp contrast to social and cultural changes which mark the domain of sex and sexuality in Britain and United States, where numerous Hindus have settled. In discussing what Foucault calls ‘the repressive hypothesis’, Anthony Giddens comments on institutional changes which impact on the question of sex. He observes, ‘sexuality is at last fully autonomous’ as it is no longer reducible to reproduction (1992: 27–28). According to his analysis, besides advances in permissiveness, sexual revolution involves two basic elements. The first one is a revolution in female sexual autonomy and the second element is the flourishing of male and female homosexuality (1992: 28). In Foucault’s analysis liberation of sex is a focal point of modern societies when he says, By creating the imaginary element that is ’sex’, the deployment of sexuality established one of its most essential internal operating principles: the desire for sex – the desire to have it, to have access to it, to discover it, to liberate it, to articulate it in discourse, to formulate it in truth. (1978: 156) The impact of sexual revolution and portrayal of sexuality in popular media and its crass exploitation in pornography is one of the most striking phenomenon of our times. Current debates on teaching about homosexuality in schools also marks a controversial period of social change. In contrast to this dynamic culture of expression of sex and sexuality, South Asian groups come from a complex range of traditions which prescribe normative self-regulation and self-control in sexual matters as cardinal for ethical conduct. Hence sexual permissiveness may appear as a potential threat to those Hindus and non-Hindus alike who believe in abstinence and self-control as an essential aspect of their cultural practice. The impact of Western ideas on sex and sexuality on non-Western societies is, no doubt, an important area of research, but it falls outside the remit of this chapter, which is mainly concerned with exploring the significance of celibacy in one particular religious context. Although the Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines celibacy as ‘a state of living unmarried’, it is the word ‘celibataire’ defined as ‘one who is vowed to celibacy’ that refers to a formal and self-conscious vow of abstinence from sexual intercourse (1991: 227). Such a vow is often regarded as a precondition for religious and spiritual self-enlightenment
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in major religious communities. In order to locate celibacy among the Hindus, the chapter focuses on the Hindu aims of life to show that controlling desire generally and sexual desire in particular is an important aspect of religious and spiritual life. This theme is examined in the context of the Swaminarayan movement with the use of textual evidence to demonstrate that celibacy is an essential ingredient for a follower of the Swaminarayan. Before describing and analysing celibacy, it is necessary to distinguish celibacy and sexuality from gender relations. Such a distinction is not always self-evident. Therefore it is important to note that categories of celibacy and sexuality are not synonymous with gender relationships. It is perfectly possible for a state of celibacy or a state of latent or manifest sexuality to exist without any direct reference to gender relations. In so far as sexuality implies contact between human beings, the question of gender may become relevant. These distinctions are mirrored in the discussion of celibacy and sexuality in this chapter. It is with these distinctions that this chapter explores the question of chastity in the Swaminarayan movement. Within the movement, unless there is a contact between men and women, celibacy may not become a gender issue. A renouncer in the Swaminarayan movement who practices celibacy may not get involved in any gender relations. However, gender relations and sexual relations are to some extent inseparable, and thus man–woman dyad tends to come into a sharp focus in Swaminarayan groups. One particular consequence of normative concern with chastity brings about separation and even segregation between men and women in the Swaminarayan movement. To what extent can the followers of Swaminarayan sects sustain gender segregation in Britain, United States and Canada given that these metropolitan societies have rapidly moved to a more liberal and less conventional view of sex and sexuality since social, cultural and political changes of 1960s? This is a question that is addressed in the concluding part of this chapter that also explores social change that may affect a belief system with its roots in South Asia.
The aims of Hindu life and celibacy It is necessary to provide an account of the main aims of Hindu life in order to explain the importance of chastity among the Hindus. Hindus define the main aims of their life as dharma, artha, kama andmoksha, which respectively concern moral and normative framework of human existence, wealth, love and pleasure, and, finally, salvation (Theodore
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de Bary, 1958: 200–254). Moksha or salvation is, of course, the aim which Hindus desire most. In his Sanskrit–English Dictionary, Monier M. Williams associates emancipation, liberation, release from worldly existence or transmigration, final or eternal emancipation with the word moksha (Willaims, 1889: 835). Moksha is the highest goal which refers to ultimate freedom from fetters of birth and death and, therefore, from reincarnation. Using both Mahabharat and Chandogya Upanishad, Zaehner says, it is freedom to range at will as a bird flies freely through the unobstructed air or as fish swims through the boundless ocean; it is freedom from the body and trammels of space and time which fetter the body, freedom to laugh and play in the infinite. (1969: 80) In explaining the word dharma, Monier M. Williams associates it with ‘that which is established or firm, steadfast decree, statuette, ordinance, law; usage, practice, customary observance or prescribed conduct, duty; right, justice (often as a synonym of punishment); virtue; morality, religion, religious merit, good works’ (Williams, 1889: 510). Textual material that explicitly deals with dharma is cleary identified as Dharma Shastra. In its manifold meanings, dharma emerges as a category that refers to order and harmony both in natural world as well as in the human world. The category that opposes dharma is adharma that refers to disorder, disharmony and conflict. As far as the human world is concerned, the concept of dharma cannot be separated from karma, the concept of action that presupposes an ethical dimension based on the primacy of dharma. The relationship between dharma and karma is sufficiently critical for Radhakrishnan to say, ‘Dharma is right action’ (1968: 56). It is the fusion between dharma and karma which underpins the conduct concerned with the main aims of human existence. Artha as a domain of human action clearly refers to utility and desire, wealth and pleasure (Williams, 1889: 90) Therefore, as an aim, artha concerns material life and wealth creation and statecraft and rules which govern the relationship between the king and his subjects as illustrated in Kautilya’s Artha Shastra. Western readers are usually familiar with Kama Sutra as an Indian text that explicitly deals with lovemaking and features prominently in bookshops from time to time. The word kama means pleasure, enjoyment, love, especially sexual love or sensuality (Williams, 1889: 271) Kama in the sense of love and pleasure is ultimately rooted in human sexuality. Although the Hindus regard the aim of moksha as
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the supreme objective, what is the most important aim for a particular set of human beings is something that depends on the context within which they perform karma in order to achieve particular goals. It is not uncommon that conflict can occur between aims as individuals strive to fulfil their desires. The aim of kama may clash with other aims, for instance with the precepts of dharma and both personal and relational ambiguity, disharmony and even conflict can occur. The aim of moksha may or may not override kama. In the real-life situations, relationship between these two values may become a source of acute discomfort for individual actors in making choices which are most compatible with the established moral framework. Kama as a powerful force can compel an individual person to act in a manner that clashes with what one’s dharma requires. However, the supremacy of moksha is usually categorical and dharma prescribes a complex set of norms and rules which should guide the practical conduct in a manner that provides legitimate expression of kama in the appropriate stage of life. Although dharma is a paramount ethical value that underpins all the other aims, conflict between these values and what it is that constitutes proper dharma in a particular situation is often a source of considerable debate and dilemma.
Celibacy and restraint in Hinduism For Hindus, kama is a powerful expression of desire. In the more ascetic forms of Hindu thinking, regulation, control and even conquest of desire is a highly valued ideal. Traditionally, the Hindus divide man’s life into four developmental stages. Brahmacharya is the first stage of learning during which a student is expected to be a celibate learner as a brahmachari. The meaning of these two critical terms for an understanding of celibacy is very clear. Monier M. Williams defines brahamcharya as the state of an unmarried religious student, a state of continence and chastity (1889: 738). Brahamachari is therefore a man ‘practising sacred study as an unmarried student, observing chastity’ (1889: 738). After he has completed his study, a brahamchari becomes a householder, a grahasthi who has entered the grahasthya or a householder stage of life, which requires fulfilment of desire for the primary purpose of reproduction. After he has discharged his duties as a householder, there is the vanprastha stage. As a vanprasthi, ideally the householder withdraws from the world into forest dwelling, which, if not literally, metaphorically symbolises increasing dissociation with the worldly activities. The final stage is sanyasa, when man severs his ties with kith and kin and
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becomes a renouncer to seek spiritual knowledge and moksha, the final liberation from reincarnation. This fourfold division of living space is an influential idea, and Hindus may either explicitly and ritually observe a passage from one stage to the next or refer to each as an ideal to which their conduct may approximate. Like men, women also strive to achieve this objective according to their status and position in their respective religious traditions. The first stage of life marking the brahamacharya explicitly upholds the ideal of celibacy, virginity and preservation of semen. Hindus regard self-control and denial of desire embodied in this belief as an important step in self-disciplined spiritual development, often identified as yoga that leads to knowledge of the self (atmagnan). Leading Hindu religious texts deal with the fruits of desire and the manner in which the consequences of desire may influence the self and self-consciousness. Sources such as Upanishads and Bhagavada Gita categorically affirm the denial of desire and affirmation of physical and mental self-control as a necessary condition for spiritual self-enlightenment and anchoring of the self that is ultimately relatively untempered by fruits of desire. The importance of brahamacharya and transcendence of desire based on the senses to real desire for self-knowledge through discipline is emphasised in Chandogya Upanishad (Radhakrishnan, 1953: 498–499). Similarly, the second verse of Chapter 3, Section 2 of Mundaka Upanishad, explicitly refers to desire, kama, as a cause of rebirth. He who entertains desires, thinking of them is born (again) here and there on account of his desires. But of him who has his desire fully satisfied, who is a perfected soul, all his desires vanish even here (on earth). (Radhakrishnan, 1953: 689) In Chapter 2, ‘Sankhya Yoga’, in Bhagavada Gita when Arjuna asks Krishna about the one who is steadfast in his concentration and wisdom, Krishna presents to him a discourse that provides a clearly formulated thesis on self-knowledge that comes only after a person has brought his senses under self-control (Chidbhavnanada, 1986: 182–209; Edgerton, 1964: 15–17) As for the notion of celibacy that is enshrined in the concept of brahmacharya, in his Introduction to The Principal Upanishads, Radhakrishnan explains the concept as follows:
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Brahamacharya is not sex-destruction. There is no gulf between flesh and spirit, but only between the fallen and the transfigured flesh. Ancient Indian thinkers were of the opinion that the seed within man and woman is intended for the purpose of creating a body by which another soul may come into physical embodiment. When thus controlled, brahamcharya helps creative work of every description. When the seed is wasted in sex excesses, the body becomes weak and crippled, the face lined, the eyes dull, hearing impaired and the brain inactive. If brahmachraya is practised, the physical body remains youthful and beautiful, the brain keen and alert, the whole physical expression becomes the image and likeness of the divine. (Radhakrisnan, 1953: 110) The textual view of celibacy is widely known among the Hindus, especially in upper- and middle-ranking jatis, and the notion of sexual self-control diffuses through Hindu communities in different degrees. It constitutes a tacit and implicit dimension of Hindu way of life. The contextual expression of this general Hindu view on sexual selfcontrol is most vividly expressed in Mahatma Gandhi’s An Autobiography or the Story of My Experiment with Truth in two chapters entitled Brahmacharya 1 and Brahamacharya 2 (1972: 153–159). Before an assessment of Gandhi’s concept of celibacy, it is important to distinguish between primary and secondary celibacy. Primary celibacy has to be virginal celibacy, or as in Sanskrit or Hindi akhanda brahmacharya, which would refer to a celibate state totally free from sexual contact. In contrast, secondary celibacy would refer to a cessation of sexual contact between husband and wife after initial consummation and reproduction. This can be regarded as an example of secondary celibacy that is non-virginal. The celibacy that Gandhi advocated for himself was the one where he wanted to shift from sexual contact to sexual abstinence. This can be described as conjugal celibacy to which a couple may return after they have had normal sexual relationship. In his chapters on brahmacharya, Gandhi relates his concern with chastity to his desire for not having any more children (1972: 154) and to his political work during the Zulu rebellion that necessitated the break of his Johannesburg household and the transfer of his children to Phoenix so that he could lead the Indian ambulance corps. He wanted to give up his desire for children and wealth in order to live vanprastha life and to devote himself to community service. As he explains, he took the vow of brahamacharya in 1906. He believed that brahmacharya protected the body, the mind and the soul (1972: 154) and that the loss
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of semen amounted to the loss of precious energy and radiant glow, tej, on one’s face, while preservation of semen energised the body. In a recent study Bhikhu Parekh has provided a stimulating and illuminating analysis of Gandhi’s views on sex, energy and politics (1989, 172: 206). Gandhi also saw a clear relationship between diet and celibacy and believed in the efficacy of diet in stimulating or restraining sexual desire and therefore recommended fasting as a way of numbing the senses. He clearly associated celibacy with control of senses in thought, word and deed, and appreciated the power of the desire to penetrate the innermost recesses of brahamachari’s heart. He also clearly established the relationship between celibacy-based control of senses and one’s aspiration to moksha, salvation (Parekh, 1989: 158–159). There is a sense in which Gandhi’s ideas on chastity and self-control give expression to fundamental Hindu ideas on this topic. It is not uncommon to find Indian publications in English and South Asian languages which focus on the virtues of celibacy in considerable details. In English language, Swami Sivananda’s Practice of Brahamacharya (1941) is noteworthy for having gone through three editions since its first publication in 1934. It provides a strong and persuasive prescription for celibacy. In Gujarati language, there is Jatashanker Nandi’s Brhmacharya Mimansa (1940) that focuses on preservation of semen and brahmacharya as a virtue in an exposition that runs to 452 pages. In the social and cultural context that emphasises restraint and abstinence as spiritual values, it is not surprising that the sects within the Swaminarayan movement reproduce the same concern with both primary celibacy of the renouncers and secondary celibacy of both male and female followers according to a well-established tradition.
Celibacy and restraint in the Swaminarayan movement When Sahjananda Swami founded the Swaminarayan sampradaya at Ahmedabad and Vadtal, with the division of sectarian jurisdiction between northern and southern gadis, the seats, the sect initially emerged as a clearly identifiable singular entity. Although many people continue to use the designation the Swaminarayan sect or sampradaya, now it is more appropriate to describe it as a movement that consists of different Swaminarayan sects (Barot, 1980; Williams, 1984). For the process of segmentation has occurred both within the Ahmedabad and Vadtal jurisdiction of what used to be a singular sect. Segmentation appears to involve the difference and opposition between the traditionally appointed heads acharyas at Ahmedabad and Vadtal and
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the renouncer sadhus. Be that as it may, segmentation at Ahmedabad has given rise to Maninagar-based Shree Swaminarayan Siddhanta Sajivan Mandal, initially formed and led by Swami Muktajivandasji and currently by Swami Purshottampriyadasji with the idea that the renouncer head of the sect had inherited the divine charisma of Swaminarayan himself. Similarly, from the beginning of twentieth century, Vadtal-based gadi has given rise to Shree Akshar Purshottam Sanstha, which has expounded the principle of pragatswarup according to which the leading renouncer Swami Yagnapurushdasji was regarded as an incarnation of the divinity of the Swaminarayan, currently endowed in the present leader Swami Narayanswarupdasi, who has been popularly known as Pramukh Swami. A layman within Shree Akshar Purshottam Sanstha who attempted to recruit and initiate women as renouncers separated from the sect to establish the Yogi Divine Society, which was also concerned with the spiritual welfare of women. The Society further divided along the gender line; Gunatit Jyot was established for women who wanted to renounce and Anoopam Mission was established to recruit and initiate men. Further the renouncer Shashtri Dharmajivandas and his associates from the Vadtal seat of the primary sect have branched out on their own. Using the model of traditional Hindu schools called gurukul, they have established their own independent schools and colleges for children from Swaminarayan and non-Swaminarayan Hindu families. Although they do not formally identify themselves as a sect, they have a band of loyal followers who support them. They accept the supremacy of Swaminarayan in the tradition of primary sect and as they have not established their own separate forms of worship and temples, they do not constitute a sectarian organisation although they do seem to have an identity which cannot be reduced to their affiliation to Vadtal acharya. Although the internal differentiation is worthy of some note for a proper understanding of the organisations which mark the Swaminarayan movement, it is important to emphasise that all the sects share a common body of sectarian literature, especially the sectarian code of conduct the Sikshapatri, Vachnamarat and Satsangijivanam, the core texts which explain the main premises of the theology of salvation. However, the actual interpretation of this soteriology may vary between primary Swaminarayan sect led by the householder acharyas and secondary sects led by the renouncers who uphold the principle of pragatswarup the divine that is manifested in the leadership of the living renouncer. One of the central themes running through these texts is the paramountcy of moksha as the most valued aim and the necessity of controlling sense-based desires to achieve the final liberation, not always
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after death, but as a living phenomenal experience now. The texts clearly outline the rules according to which the renouncers as well as the male and female followers of the Swaminarayan should maintain primary or secondary celibacy respectively, and generally conduct themselves with the kind of modesty that symbolises self-control necessary for the ultimate bounty of moksha. The importance of primary and secondary celibacy is particularly relevant for the leadership of the sect and the distinction may involve a hierarchical evaluation between the virginal celibacy of renouncers and the non-virginal celibacy of the acharya, married householder leaders and lay members. Some ideological opposition and tension is likely to occur between the leaders whose status is that of householders as being distinct from those whose status is defined by complete renunciation. Renouncers who conceptually stand outside the world almost invariably command greater respect. They make a very important contribution to sustaining the message of moksha, which is also no less about self-discipline and self-restraint. It is socialisation into the culture of celibacy and non-attachment that constitutes an important part of the belief system of the Swaminarayan sects.
Primary celibacy in the Swaminarayan movement Followers of the Swaminarayan movement regard Sahjanand Swami’s Sikshapatri (Pandya, 1986; Williams, 1882)1 as prescribing dharma, code of conduct and a very clear set of rules that govern the behaviour of all the followers of the Swaminarayan. The followers are expected to read the verses of Sikshapatri on an everyday basis in order to conform to the codes which it sets out. The normative prescriptions cover the following topics: rights and duties of the acharayas and their wives, duties of householders and rulers; duties of wives, widows and women; and special obligations incumbent upon brahamacharis and sadhus. Sahjananda Swami did not formally initiate women into renunciation. With the exception of Gunatit Jyot, which was set up to enable women to live celibate lives, the renouncers in primary and secondary sects within the movement tended to be men. A class of women who are described as sankhyayoginis lead cloistered celibate lives in the main centres of the primary Swaminarayan sect. They do not appear to have the same kind of participatory status as male renouncers in the movement. As far as primary celibacy and renunciation are concerned, the rules clearly indicate that the path of renunciation is open more to men than to women as the verses do not refer explicitly to the way in which women could avoid contact with men to maintain their celibacy.
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Sikshapatri prescribes the following rules to those who observe the norms of primary celibacy. Those of my followers who have taken the vow of Naishthika Brahamacaris (that is, of perpetual celibacy and chastity) must not knowingly either touch or converse with or look at women. (Williams, 1882: 733—749, 750–772) As the reader of Sanskrit will no doubt note, the word naishtic refers to highest, perfect, complete (Williams, 1889: 576), implying the kind of totality which presupposes celibacy as a prime condition – a state of purity which is necessary for atyantika moksha or salvation of the highest order.2 The relationship between purity and celibacy is implied if not always explicitly stated. The state of chastity is a pure state, and not being chaste can imply physical and mental inadequacy if not outright act of ritual pollution. Sikshapatri also prohibits secondary and tertiary and even symbolic contact with women and the idea of womanhood that may arouse desire in the following verses. They should never talk or listen to conversations about women, and they should not perform their ablutions or other religious rites at places where women pass backwards and forwards. (Williams, 1982: 769) They should never knowingly touch or look at even the pictures of wooden images of women, unless they be the representations of goddesses. (Williams, 1882: 769) Even in this context, Sikshapatri prohibits renouncers from singing the praise of the deity with a view to being heard by women (Williams, 1882: 769). The text also reminds the renouncers never to look selfconsciously at animals engaged in sexual acts (Williams, 1882: 769) and equally to avoid both physical and visual contact with men who may dress up as women (Williams, 1882: 769). Besides avoiding all primary and secondary associations with women, Sikshapatri instructs sadhus to ignore and challenge the spiritual leader whose directives may lead them to breach their vow of chastity (Williams, 1882: 769). However, a renouncer can call upon a woman and even touch her in circumstances where either her or his life is threatened (Williams, 1882: 769). Apart from such an exceptional predicament, Sikhsapatri makes it crystal clear
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that renouncers should avoid not only women but also those men who may be particularly fond of women (Williams, 1882: 769). As the central theological text of all the Swaminarayan sects, Vachnamrat3 (1973) consists of discourses between Shajananda Swami and his followers. These discourses appear in question–answer form. They provide detailed exposition on the nature of the divine and the relationship it has to human self-consciousness. The emphasis is on the need for bhakti, devotion and compliance to the norms of the sect for humans to become mumukshus (the one who desires moksha) to start with and to strive to achieve the ultimate liberation through total selfcontrol and self-surrender. In contrast to Vachnamrat, five volumes of Satsangijivanam (Shatananda Muni, 1985) provide in considerable details the rules and regulations which guide the conduct and the penances and sanctions which apply when the deviations from the norm occur in various departments of human conduct within the movement. Satsangijiavnam4 deals much more explicitly with sexual desire and consequences which occur if a renouncer is caught up in the web of kama. The treatise dwells on the deviations and prescribes penances and sanctions which apply to renouncer. If a renouncer has contact with a woman in his dream, upon waking up, he should immediately bathe himself and recite Oum namo narayan 3000 times (Shatananda Muni, 1985: 389). After seeing a woman if a renouncer has an ejaculation due to feebleness of his senses, he should fast for three days and undertake 100 breathing (pranayam) exercises (Shatananda Muni, 1985: 389). However, if he has an ejaculation in his dream without contact with a woman, he should bathe himself and undertake 10 breathing exercises. In all penances for seminal ejaculation, fasting is recommended (Shatananda Muni, 1985: 389). If a renouncer speaks to a woman out of ignorance and without any reason such as begging for food, he should take a bath and recite the name of Hari. A sadhu who follows the dharma faithfully should take a bath, fast for a day and recite the name of Hari if he converses, hears or reads anything contrary to his vow of celibacy (Shatananda Muni, 1985: 389). If a renouncer has a direct sexual intercourse with a woman, he should go to the forest and perform self-castration. This is the only penance for this aberration. Living only on fruit and roots, he should conquer his senses by visiting the places of pilgrimage. Such a renouncer purifies himself only by blessings of other holy men (Shatananda Muni, 1985: 390). If someone who has accepted renunciation as a matter of rational choice, and if he has association with a woman for sexual pleasure, he is reincarnated as a krimi worm in excreta for 60,000 years (Shatananda Muni, 1985: 390).
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Being under the influence of kama, should a renouncer scratch (masturbate) himself into having an ejaculation, he should recite the name of the divinity 3,00,000 times (Shatananda Muni, 1985: 390). From this and other passages in Satsangijivanam, it is clear that Sahjanand Swami and his associates had reflected not only on the renouncers’ celibacy but also on the prospect of deviation from it. Sexuality, primary celibacy and salvation stand in a relationship of considerable tension for each seeker of salvation, but especially for men and women who sever their ties with the phenomenal world as they pursue moksha as a matter of lifelong personal commitment. The research in the field of sexuality and celibacy is a sensitive area of inquiry. Severe penalty such as self-castration for sexual deviation symbolises a sense of horror that is felt when a renouncer is found to be involved in a sexual relationship. Secondary celibacy in the Swaminarayan movement When the sadhus commit themselves to the vow of absolute chastity and purity in precept and practice, they establish an example of virtuosity for themselves as a group and for the lay householder followers – men, women and children. For the culture of celibacy, purity and selfcontrolled behaviour becomes an ideal model for those whose main concern is not total sexual abstinence but the kind of ordered regulation of sexuality that goes towards preservation of the family and community within the Swaminarayan movement. The model of primary celibacy and total commitment to moksha provides a yardstick for an assessment of behaviour that may or may not be sexually explicit. Sectarian norms of primary and secondary celibacy combined with the rules of arranged endogamous marriages provide a basis for a sectarian order which is relatively free from instinctive and irrational vagaries of sexual desire. Unless men and women were close kin, they are expected to observe rules of strict avoidance as any casual contact between them can be seen as having some potential erotic or sexual association. Sikshapatri rules on this issue are clearly formulated. Women should strictly avoid men. No communication, even though arising naturally (sahjajika), should be held with any other man who may be possessed of beauty, youth and good qualities. (Williams, 1882: 767)
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Although not formally stated as such, the precept equally applies to men for all contact with women likely to stimulate sensual desire. However, verse 34 of the Sikshapatri says, Males ought not to listen to (discourses on) religious knowledge, or to tales (about the exploits of heroes) from the mouths of women, nor ought they to carry on controversial discussions with females, nor with a king or his officials. (Williams, 1882: 753) This prescription would appear to imply avoidance men ought to exercise in their dealings with women. Sikshapatri does not fail to recognise the nature of erotic attraction that can occur between close kin and clearly states, They (my male followers) should not remain alone in any private place with a youthful mother, sister or daughter except in times of distress. Nor should a wife be given away (to another man). (Williams, 1882: 765) It is evident that rules of avoidance between men and women apply to all social relations, including those within the family. Sikshapatri also explicitly prohibits the married householder heads of the sect from initiating, preaching or instructing women assigning this task to the wives of the householder heads, the acharya (Williams, 1882: 764). They are, in turn, required to refrain from having any contact with men in the following prescription: They should never touch or speak to other males than their nearest relations; nor should they ever show their faces to them. (Willaims, 1882: 765) These Shikshapatri verses clearly show that Shajananda Swami, the founder of the Swaminarayan movement, expected all his followers to maintain strict norms of segregation between male and female membership of the sect. Strict rules applied to renouncers show that they were expected to be models of purity, chastity and spiritual knowledge. Both the householder heads of the movement and the renouncer heads of schismatic sects perform the panch vartman, five vows, which is a Swaminarayan rite of initiation. These five precepts require that the followers should not eat meat, drink alcohol, steal, commit adultery
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and incur pollution by accepting prasad from those of inferior status than themselves. When the heads of the sect, be they celibate renouncers or the married householder acharya, perform the rite of panch vartman, they are expected to be chaste, celibate either in primary or in secondary sense and pure beyond the slightest shadow of doubt. Such a doubt on the part of their followers seriously undermines the charisma and spiritual legitimacy which are so directly integral to celibacy as a virtue. Besides a commonly shared body of sacred writing by Sahajananda Swami, segmented Swaminarayan sects have produced their own body of literature which produces a trajectory of their own autonomy and their particular message of salvation. These sects generally tend to strengthen the values which the Swaminarayan movement stands for as far as the question of celibacy, self-control and salvation is concerned. The research that the author has carried out among the followers of Shree Swaminarayan Siddhanta Sajivan Mandal, referred to as the Mandal (Barot, 1980), also demonstrates that primary and secondary celibacy and segregation between men and women feature prominently in stories which are really short moral narratives for members of the sect. The man who played an important part in the formation of the Mandal was Abji Bapa. Compilations of discourse that he presented to his followers have been put together in a book form and called Shree Abji Bapa Shreeni Vato (Ishwarcharandasji, 1955). Shree Akshar Purshottam Sanstha has also produced a body of literature similar to the title Swami Shree Yagnapurushdasji (Dave, 1974). These narratives refer to particular events which are presented in a devotional style to the followers within the movement. But they constitute documentary sources of great importance where the printed word is an expression of existing relationships and contemporary concern to the point that any separation between text and context becomes somewhat artificial. Intended for the wider sectarian readership, such works provide a bridgehead between more abstract and philosophical discourses and narratives which lay members of the sect can easily follow. These narratives contain a careful distillation of the more abstract and theological ideas and reinforce values such as celibacy, self-control, devotion, elimination of egoism, compliance to the sectarian norms and so on. The purpose of this context-bound body of literature is to uphold the common Swaminarayan values of supremacy of moksha through values of selfcontrol as demonstrated by primary and secondary forms of celibacy and regulation of conduct according to the precepts of Sikshapatri in conformity to the broader context of Hindu dharma. Finally, it is the
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complex and problematic context of dharma that provides an ethical framework for assessment and self-assessment for atyantika moksha, the ultimate salvation. This is the goal each sect member stirves to achieve as best he or she can through the culture of celibacy and self-control.
Celibacy and sexuality in modernity One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Swaminarayan movement is that it came into existence when Indian society in general and Gujarat in particular were going through colonial rule. Introduction of modern institutions brought about a complex array of economic, political and ideological changes which M.N. Srinivas was to conceptualise and analyse in his well-known twin-conceptions of Westernisation and sanskritisation (1968, 1989) – the concepts which linked in a singular format heterogeneous processes of social change. The emergence of Sahjananda Swami at the beginning of nineteenth century and the development of his following in Gujarat, Kathiawad and Kutch is very much a part and parcel of this change. Far from being unilinear or uni-directional, such change is complex and involves processes which often work in different and contradictory ways. In their migratory settlement in the West, the fact that the followers of various Swaminarayan sects have gone through social, economic and cultural changes is an undeniable fact no less than reproduction of their tradition. The reproduction of this tradition since 1995 has been symbolised in the construction of a magnificent Swaminarayan temple in Neasden, London, that the followers of Bochasanvasi Shree Akshar Purshottam Sanstha have established. It is doubtless that the force of modernist secularisation has not reduced the importance of religious identity and spiritual values for the followers of various Swaminarayan sects. The perception that their young sons and daughters will lose anchor in their particular religious and sectarian tradition may stimulate the leaders of Swaminarayan and other religious communities to consolidate the foundation of their tradition in the United Kingdom. The construction of temples in Britain in order to preserve the future identity of Hindus is a clear demonstration of this deeply felt concern. Returning to Bishop Roderick Wright for a moment, it is inappropriate to argue that an example such as this necessarily marks the fall of celibacy in Roman Catholicism. Failure to observe celibacy is a matter of human failing that is not peculiar to Roman Catholicism but a wider
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trait of humanity, and according to the Hindus, from the earliest history of human endeavour for spiritual values. No doubt the Hindus can also show that individual renouncer and lay persons believed to be deeply religious and spiritual can fall from their vow of primary or secondary chastity. Like members of many religious communities who struggle to sustain their religious belief and practice in a secular society, Hindus and members of the Swaminarayan movement are no less exposed to changing views on sexuality. In the West generally and in Britain in particular, the realm of sexuality and the institutions and social relations connected with it has gone through a complex range of changes. Authors of Sexual Behaviour in Britain: The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Life Styles note that attitude to teenage sexuality and sex before marriage is more relaxed than before (Weillings K., Field, J., Johnson A., Wadsworoth J, 1994: 230–273). Presented as an objective study, the index in this volume has no entry on celibacy although there is an entry on abstinence that concerns contraception. In modern times, the ideology of individualism and choice appears as a predominant theme in a wide variety of economic, social and cultural contexts. The transmission of this ideology is widespread in Western societies. Induction and socialisation into this ideology occurs from the earliest stages when teachers ask children not only what to do but, most importantly, to learn to choose. All children learn this mode of being and choice irrespective of which communities they belong to. The link between individualism and the notion of sexuality is a key issue in modern interpersonal relationships as Anthony Giddens has argued (Gidden, 1992). The idea of choice is clearly related to preference for a particular kind of sexual orientation. In contrast, regulation of sexuality and choices which concern primary and secondary forms of celibacy are highlighted in terms of repression and elimination of choice. How do various South Asian communities respond to rapidly changing culture of European sexuality and what Giddens describes as ‘plastic sexuality’ (sexuality that is decentred from the needs or reproduction 1992: 2) is probably a difficult but one of the most interesting areas of research in the field of sexuality and social change. Although it is perfectly possible to argue that ‘plastic sexuality’ and erotocism associated with it in the media in its glossy representation in magazines for men and women may no less infleunce the South Asians, it may be that those who go for celibacy as a way of living might argue that their celibate state is a key to self-understanding and self-knowledge that transcends the fettersof desire.
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Acknowledgements I am thankful to Professor John R. Hinnells and Dr Werner Menski for their invitation to the conference on A Comparative Study of the South Asian Diaspora Religious Experience in Britain, Canada and the United States in November 1996.. I must express my gratitude to Dr Kieran Flanagan for his enthusiasm for the topic and his encouragement which I valued greatly. I am also grateful to my colleagues Professor Michael Banton, Dr Harriet Bradley, Aditya Bhardwaj and to my friend Professor Pankaj Joshi of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai for their most helpful comments on this chapter.
Notes 1. Although I have used Monier M. Williams’s translation of Sikshapatri, the quality of translation has some Victorian flavour which should be noted. Besides various Gujarati translations of Sikhsapatri, I have also read Sikshapatri published by Kanji Bhagat 1986, Vadtal, Gyanbag. The translation by Rameshchandra Pandya (1986) is of reasonable quality that still leaves some scope for improvement. 2. It should be noted that moksha is not a singular monolithic category but a highly complex and differentiated state. See Barot (1980) for hierarchical states of moksha. 3. Certain qualifications, however, do apply. For instance, the version of Vachnamrat which members of Shree Swaminarayan Siddhanta Sajivan Mandal use has a critical commentary on each discourse identified as rahasyarthapradipika tika (a commentary that illuiminates the meaning of the text), which is not acceptable to other sects who use the text to which no commentary is added. 4. Volumes of Satsangijivanam are in Sanskrit with Gujarati translation. Rendition of the translation into English in this chapter is by the author.
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