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The Unknown Pilgrims
activated a rigid formalism, caused secular prejudices to disappear, in short, brought about an awakening or a revival. It is testimony to events such as these that the biographies seek to pass on. As in all hagiography within all the religions and monastic traditions, there is no doubt a certain idealisation, to a greater or lesser degree, which mainly consists in extolling only the virtues and remaining silent concerning their opposites, but that may be taken for granted, for is one not writing in praise of a heroine, to set her up as an example? Sometimes there is an element of the miraculous, but that also has its own authentic value, for the sādhvi authoress is sincere, she is expressing her devotion, her daughterly love, and she is enthralled by her model.
We refrain from giving in these pages an appreciation of these biographies as literature. The following pages attempt to convey accurately each of these lives, by means in each instance of a synthesis, for certain of these biographies are voluminous, highly detailed and even repetitive. Each flower is unique: its shape, colour and scent. It is this unique character of each one within her own group, among her peers and in her own day and age, that must be revealed. In this way it is possible to encounter each one in a personal, direct and enchanting way.
Through these different testimonies we can discern certain tendencies and characteristics common to all, which show us clearly the foundation upon which their lives were built as well as their impact upon the society in which they were living. We know already that the importance given to tapas has always been predominant in all the communities, although it may have been regarded only as means to an end. For this reason the general opinion has been - and this is observable even in our own day - that the sădhvis must above all else be tapasvinis, renunciates, with perfect self-mastery, all the rest, adhyayana, svādhyāya, dhyāna, only concerning them to a certain extent as decreed by the ācārya. However, already at the end of the last century, starting with the least recent of the biographies, that of Sadhvi Punya, we can see taking place among the sādhvis slowly but surely an awakening, both to their own specific ideal and to the role which they should perform in the samgha and in society. These texts introduce us to the very heart of their daily life and we can see for ourselves how much all that they have read and studied in the Sūtras
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