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esdayeveningmeetingsinacarpetedauditoriumonthe 17th floorofanofficebuildinginChelsea,offeredbytheIndia nculturalorganizationBharatiya VidyaBhavan. Therearearound30peoplewhocometotheweeklylecture,mostlywhite,mostly Western,manywhohavebeenco mingfor30years. Peoplegreeteachother tellstoriesofhowtheyfirstbecameinterestedinChitrabhanuji'slectures, theyspeakofoth erswhoarenotattendingbecausetheyareabroad,orhaverecentlydied. Itisclearthattheattendeeshaveseparatelives, lifestyles, buttheyareaclosecommunity. When Chitrabhanuwalksintotheroom, thestudents,or"friends"ashecallsus,greetwith Namaste. Pramoda, Chitrabhanu'swife,leadsinthesingingofamantra, Mangalam asChitrabhanuexplains, "Thisisblessin gsfrominside.Blessingsarehuman being." Afterthesinging, andabriefmeditationonpeace, happinessandpresentness, Chitrabhanutellsastoryaboutanea gleshotbyahunter. Theeagleisholdingheregg, whichfallsdown, amongsomechickeneggs,"bornasaneagle, dieasachicken."Thiski ndofmistakenidentitymoralitystorymaybecommonwhatisparticulartoChitrabhanu'slecture,istheemphasisonreachingone'spotential, notinspiteof,butbecausewe don'tknowourpasts,ourkarma. Heemphasizesthedisconnection betweenone'snameandone'sbeing, andtheimportanceofreconnectingtoone sself, throughbreath,meditation, reprogrammingoneselfasanindividual inrelationtoothers. ThisJainethicistiedverycloselytoaction. In Sanskrit, karmameansaction. In Jainism,karmaistheresultofsubtlemicroscopicelementscalledpudgala. Thisiswhatandhowbeingsexperiencelife,untilemotionalattachment, asmatter,fallsaway. InJainphilosophy,cyclesofdeathandrebirtharetheeffectofkarma, conceivedofaskarmicbondage. Soulstransmigrateinsearchofconditionsthatwillbringaboutnon-attachment, enlightenment, moksa. Karmaisoftenseenasatemplate,orareceptacleofpastdeedsfromwhichthepresentisconstructed, andthefuture charted. Carryingbeingsfromonebirthtothenext, throughthesoul'srecordingoftracesofkarma, livingthingsexperienceth eeffectofactionsmanifestedthrough differentlifecycles, asincarnations.
Being With Withlecturesthattraversespace,place,andtime,referencingcontemporarytruckdriversin Floridaandindigenou sanimistritualinAfrica,Chitrabhanuemphasizesconnectionandtranslationacrosstraditions. Chitrabhanumakesclearthewaysthatdifferentpeopleandpracticesfitwithin, andextendJainconceptions,andco nceptionsofJainthoughtintheworld. Differentpracticesandthoughtsinteractandrelate, rendering differentexperiencesofJainism, differentiterations of Jainism,anddifferentexperiencesofandwithinothertraditions. Thisisnotuniqueto Chitrabhanu'sphilosophymyfather,whogrewupina Jainhouseholdin BombayisquicktotellmethatanyonecanbeJain, pointingtothewaysth atGandhi,Jesus,andmyJewishgrandfatherallpracticedversionsof Jainism. Referencingothertraditionsdoesn'tclaimthemas Jain, butpointstothewaysthattheymayrelateto,orwith Jainphil osophy. In The AnimalThat ThereforelAm, Jacques Derridadiscussesbeingintheworld together withlivingbeings.[3]. Hecriticizesthesimplificationofanimallifethattakesplaceasaresultofthedistinction betweenmanasathinkingani malandeveryotherlivingspecies. "Theanimalistherebeforeme, therenexttome, thereinfrontofme Iwhoam(following)afterit. Andalso, therefore,sinceitisbeforeme,itisbehindme. Itsurroundsme"(Derrida, 11). Derridaaddressesthecomplicatedinterconnection,pluralism, differenceandmultiplicityofbeings, offeringaterm "animot,"asapseudo-remedytotheviolencethatlabelinglivingbeingsas'animal"commits. ForDerridathiskindofgeneralizationis"acrime,"androbslivingbeingsoftheirdensity, theirindividualityandtheirsp ecificity. InJainphilosophy,weare beingwithandinrelationtodifferentlifeforms,inmany differentways, throughandwithins pecificlifecycles. lan Hackingtalksabouthavingsympathy with ratherthanforanimalsin"OnSympathy:With OtherCreatures, "insis tingthatwelookattheanimalwith"awholegamutofemotions, "asawhole. [4]Whatdoesitmeantohavesympathywithanimalswhentherearesomanykindsoflivingbeings, whosesoulsmov
| SR No. | 250394 |
| Book Title | Jiva Relatedness and Relationships |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Nina Mehta |
| Publisher | Nina Mehta |
| Publication Year | |
| Total Pages | 7 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Article |
| File Size | 41 KB |