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The Gap Between Theory and Practice: A Source of Confusion
Young people are very sensitive to the gap. between what people say and what they do. They are quick to point out hypocrisy and it drives. them away from Jain institutions. If it seems that American born youth are more confused, it may just be that we are willing to voice the discomfort that we feel with this gap. For example, certain Jain organizations have become yet one more battleground for individuals to invest their egos in particular positions. We talk about aparigraha, and yet there are blatant displays of wealth at Jain functions, with the promise of better karma for those who are able to pay for the privilege of a special puja. We talk about the potential of all souls to reach perfection, and then we tell young girls to focus on their bodies and clothes, as if they are on display and will be judged.
Why there is a gap between theory and prac tice? Some of our practices have been derived from the Indian culture more than from the Jain religion. At the Young Jains of America Convention in 1998, a teenager described her confusion about her parents' insistence that she cover her head in a Jain temple. She could not articulate all the reasons and she was confused. But I will try to outline some of the reasons that I find covering of women's head in a temple. inconsistent with laypeople's behavior. If the idea is to think and behave modestly and simply (like a Jain sadhavi), why do women dress in a decorative and colorful way with so much gold and silk in the temple? Also, none of the men cover their head. If the head was to be covered to show respect to the murtis, shouldn't men show respect also? Rather, it seems to follow a general Indian practice with a profound influence from Islam and Judaism, in which women cover their head to discourage men from having inappropriate thoughts in the temple. Placing the burden of controlling men's mind on women does not have a basis in Jain principles and is out of place in American culture. Also, many of our puja ceremonies, while imbued by monks with a particular Jain symbolism, appear from the outside, like
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Hindu ceremonies. If we don't understand the symbolism, there is nothing particularly Jain about the pujas we perform.
There is an even more basic reason for the gap between theory and practice. We have innumerable barriers, including kashayas, ego, anger, fear, and other illogical, subconscious aspects of ourselves that keep us from fulfilling our best intentions. While young people challenge hypocrisy, they are themselves susceptible to the same kashayas that they see in others, so all of us need to be aware of it and learn to forgive.
How Jain Institutions Can Help Us to Develop Spiritually: From Confusion to Creativity
Despite the pitfalls of institutionalized Jainism which I have alluded to, Jain organizations can help us in our development. Early in life, we understand only concrete things. Rituals and pujas characterize abstract concepts. As we mature, we can think more and more abstractly. We can understand the symbolism behind concrete objects and events. We can begin to think critically of how Jainism applies to the modern world, rather than simply following a prescribed set of rules. Instead of only worshipping the images of those who meditate, we can also start to emulate what they are doing, by learning to meditate.
Our organizations have followed a developmental cycle with which most readers will be familiar. The kids of the first wave of immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s, after their parents founded local and national Jain organizations, formed their own social and religious network, Young Jains of America (YJA). The older group among the second generation has grown out of YJA, into another organization called Young Jain Professionals (YJP). As the population of Indians in the United States as well as in organizations such as YJA and YJP have grown, an increasing number of second generation American born Jains are at home in both cultures. Many socalled "ABCD" Jains have moved beyond cultur
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