Anuvrat Movements Theory and Practical

Author(s): Shivani Bothra
Publisher: USA Florida International University

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Chapter 3 investigates how the Anuvrat Movement is in compatible with the Gandhian
legacy of nonviolence like many other post-independence movements. Thus, I employed
a comparative methodology to analyze the Anuvrat Movement in the light of other pan
Indic movements such as the Sri Lankan Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement and the
Bhoodan Movement. All these comparison is crucial to my analysis as it seeks to find out
the role of meditation and the place of monks and nuns within these movements. Chapter
4 introduces each of the 11 vows and provides the perspectives of ascetics and the laity as
developed through the structured and non-structured interviews. It analyzes the vows in
contemporary Indian circumstances. Chapter 5 is the analysis of the social survey
conducted in India among a convenience sample of 200 Indians. The 30 questions in the
survey were designed to examine the present effectiveness of the vows and analyze the
attitude and behavior of the Anuvratis as compared to the non-Anuvratis. The second part
of the analysis is derived from the interviews conducted in the Jain diaspora of North
America regarding the diasporic Jain attitude towards a Jain inspired movement. I
inquired to see whether the movement really has secular characteristics, broad appeal and
individual and social relevance across boundaries. Chapter 6 concludes the study with an
analysis of the overall implications of my research.