ISJS Transactions 2018 07 To 09 Vol 02 No 03

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 12

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When I was growing up I came to university I had never heard of anekāntavāda. But living in a Jain family, (though] they never talked about it....they practiced certain things. My father would go to Hindu shrines and Muslims shrines. He was so open about going anywhere. Anything spiritual. He would go to a Jain temple if it came in his way. He never said, oh I'm a Jain I can't do that. There was a lot of respect for different religions and religious traditions. And we had friends from different backgrounds. Jains do this today. Jains also go to Hindu temples, because Jains have lived together culturally for centuries. In one building their might be one Jain and a hundred Hindu families. So, mixing with Hindu families is a very natural thing. Mixing with your neighbors, attending common festivals.
There are cases where anekāntavāda is more difficult to practice. One interviewee discussed the difficulties of living with a sister-in-law, who is not Jain and who does not follow Jain rules in the home. Nevertheless, she allowed her sister-in-law to have her own perspective: "I cannot force her to follow it because she's from other family and two sisters are not same from one mother, so how can we, two sisters-in-law, be the same from other mothers."
Not all the householders interviewed are able to apply the principle of anekāntavāda at home as well as they are with the rest of the world. One, pursuing a degree in Jain Studies said that anekāntavāda was a philosophical principle her family does not understand. "They don't use [this principle] to solve difficulties. They shout, I shout, everyone shouts. My grandmother [keeps) quiet. She just didn't get involved. I practice anekāntavāda, but when I'm with my family I forget anekāntavāda."
On occasion, a young householder needs to yield to the opinion of an older householder. For example, a new bride may need to acquiesce to the desires of her family about working after childbirth or after marriage. One such interview subject is taking care of her children and her sister-in-law's children, though she has an advanced degree in Chemistry. Her father-in-law is disabled and unable to work, so, for the time being, she has yielded to her mother-in law's desire that she not work. Yielding to the opinions of senior house members is a practice taught to young Jain women.
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ISJS-Transactions, Vol.2, No.3, Jul-Sep, 2018
Once I was arguing with/my grandmother. And my mom was cooking in the kitchen, and she heard me arguing with my grandmother which is impolite, which is disrespectful to argue with your grandmother. So, she came out of the kitchen and she told me, next time I don't want to hear you arguing with your grandmother. It's her point of view, just accept what she says. You have to be respectful to her. I was becoming aggressive. So, she stopped me.--
Another interview subject has a degree in computer science and would like to work; however, her husband has taken over the family business-manufacturing silverware-which necessitated a move to a rural area. Though she would like a job in her field of study, none is available in the vicinity. Out of respect for her father-in-law's desire that her husband run the family business, she is looking for a job in computing she can do from home.'S
Story Telling as a Pedagogical Tool