Child Initiation (Baal Deeksha): How Religion Exploits Children

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 4 May 2024 Let An Individual Grow In A Normal Way. Don't Stymie His/Her Psycho-Sexual Development By Ushering Him/Her In The Dark Dungeons Of Monasteries And Sthanak (Jain Temples/ Sanctum Sanctorum). ----- "We don't see any government intervening like Triple Talaq since the Jain community is a rich dividend paying one. Legally also, any contract by/with a minor is 'void ab initio' as per Indian contract Act 1872. Some NGO or legal fraternity should take this matter with the SC by way of a PIL." --- Mahesh Bajaj, retired General Manager of a PSU Bank who also writes excellent Urdu poetry under the nom de plume (Takhallus) Anjum Lakhnavi. He opined this after reading the disturbing news item in Mint (May 1): "11-Year-Old Kid Becomes Jain Monk In Gujarat; Netizens Get Furious,' That kid looks genuinely sad..." A 30-year-old woman from Karnataka, Sweety, and her 11-year-old son, Hridhan, recently became Jain monks in a ceremony in Gujarat (Screengrab from Instagram/@prit_shah_photography) ------ A 30-year-old woman from Karnataka, Sweety, and her 11-year-old son, Hridhan, recently became Jain monks. In a ceremony known as Deeksha, which marks a commitment to live a life of spiritual discipline, they were given new names: Bhavshudhi Rekha Shri Ji for the mother and Hitashay Ratanavijay Ji for the son. “The kid doesn't even know properly where he has been sent to, and away from her mother forever. He can't make such decisions at this immature age. He is just sacrificed by parents," wrote one user. Why would you marry and have a child when you want to do this in the end? This is indeed outright criminal. This sect of Hinduism (yes, Jainism is not a separate faith; it's an offshoot of Hinduism) is particularly notorious for this Deeksha business, esp. the initiation of a child into a religious order. Who has given the right to the parents and the society to destroy a child's life and future by initiating him/her into monkhood? Is a child aware of the implications of monkhood? Does a child have anything to do with the idiocy of any man-made faith whether it's Jainism, Christianity or Islam? All these people who become monks at any age or stage are sexually frustrated people. And why shouldn't they be sexually frustrated when sex is such a natural function of the human body? You may have read in all dailies that a 64-year-old man in Thailand filmed his 45-year-old politician wife in bed with an adopted 24-yr-old 'monk.' Monks in all faiths are not supposed to have sex. They can't even ogle at women. So, in such a claustrophobic and stultifying religious set up, whenever he or she (in the case of a nun in Christianity or a Sadhvi in Jainism) will get an opportunity to taste the forbidden fruit, a sexcapade is bound to happen. It's natural. Coming back to Jainism and its reprehensible practice of Baal Deeksha (Child initiation), a stern step must be taken to curb this. Let an individual grow in a normal way. Don't stymie his/her psycho-sexual development by ushering him/her in the dark dungeons of monasteries and Sthanak (Jain temples/ sanctum sanctorum). Arrest parents who initiate their kids into religious orders. Put them behind the bars. Stop Digambar monks to roam around naked. The very sight is so gauche and socially awkward. Years ago in Guwahati, a Digambar monk, who shed clothes at the age of 20 and wore clothes again at the age of 42 when he fell in love with a young woman, wrote in an Assamese newspaper that he wasted 22 years of his life and did the most foolish thing by flaunting his 'asset' to the embarrassed world. Today, he lives like a normal human. He's married with a kid and left Jainism and all faiths. It's time for not just Jains but all humans to emulate his example. Are Jains listening? Perhaps not. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/child-initiation-baal-deeksha-religion-children/d/132256 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism