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way of helping the Anuvrati to cultivate self discipline and develop mental control in
order to practice the vows. The second is the Science of Living, which was designed to
provide a secular, non-religious curriculum to teach children about nonviolence, self
discipline and moral character. The third is the Samani order, which was instituted
specifically to allow some monks and nuns, who have not taken the full Mahavrata, to
travel and teach.
During my research work in India, I saw many daily discourses of Acharya
Mahashraman135 broadcast on the Sansakar136 channel in television on various topics
related to Jain doctrine, meditation, morality etc. The discourse is viewed by millions of
Indians daily. Moreover, for the past several years, the title song before the discourse
begins has been the Anuvrat Song."37 Even though monks and nuns have composed over
a thousand songs on various themes, the Anuvrat Song is the one I have heard the most in
secular programs.
What I have concluded from my analysis then is that, although Tulsi's Anuvrat
Movement may no longer effectively be serving its original specific purpose to bring
about social change to combat certain negative influences of modernization in post
Independence India, Tulsi's general underlying belief that some of the core concepts in
Jainism could be applied to create forms of actions that could have a positive influence
on the improvement of secular society is still very relevant. Both within India and in the
135 Acharya means the monk-leader or His Holiness of the Jain sub-sect. In this case, it is the Terapanth sect. The current Acharya of the Terapanth sect is Acharya Mahashraman.
136 A television channel in India dedicated to Indian spirituality encompassing religion, culture and heritage. 137 See appendices for the translated Anuvrat Song.
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