Guardians of the Transcendent: An Ethnography of a Jain Ascetic Community

Sarah Treleaven is a Toronto-based freelance writer and reviewer.

Anne Vallely, a lecturer in anthropology and religious studies at
Concordia and McGill Universities, spent 13 months in the town of
Ladnun, India, observing the revered white-robed ascetics. The ascetics
are considered the highest ethical and religious ideal among the rural
Jain community; they renounce all family, belongings, and desires in
order to fulfill roles as spiritual teachers and local exemplars of
truth.

The Jain ascetics are remarkably interesting subjects. They exist in a
moral system based on the accumulation of karma; they disavow all forms
of violence; and they believe that animals, plants, water, soil, air,
and fire are all sentient beings with souls identical to humans. They
perceive the eating of plants as a necessary violence, but refuse to
engage directly in the killing of plants. Ascetics will accept fruits,
vegetables, and water only after they have been boiled by a lay member
of the community; to ensure that they will not be implicated in an act
of violence, ascetics never prepare food for themselves. Lay members of
the community are happy to tend to the needs of the ascetics in return
for spiritual leadership.

While presenting an excellent overview of the general community,
Vallely’s work—which, she concedes, reflects a Western feminist
point of view—specifically examines how the religious ideals of the
Jain relate to the women who practise them. Guardians of the
Transcendent is an interesting examination of the impact gender has on
an individual’s ability to worship, particularly from community
perspectives. As is the case with many religions, women are
simultaneously elevated and marginalized by dual perceptions of chastity
and sexuality.

Vallely proves her intimate knowledge of the Jain ascetic lifestyle
time and time again. It is immediately apparent that Vallely not only
studied her subjects, but also lived with them and came to know them
extremely well. Her work is peppered with personal anecdotes that
lighten the mood and make the book as conversational as it is academic.