ABSTRACT
Festooned rickshaws, cars, and garlanded trucks, each blasting its distinctive horn, jostle for space along the busy streets of Mumbai. So too do the people, moving at different speeds on their daily journey: friends, arms linked, saunter at a snail’s pace; skinny boys with cups of tea deftly dart through the crowds; businessmen, hollering into cell phones, stride with intent in all directions. In the midst of the flurry, a group of male mendicants wearing simple white robes moves deliberately and briskly through the crowd. The din intuitively keeps its distance, creating a sanctified space around them. They are a striking sight: their serene expressions and purposeful steps distinguish them from the crowd of preoccupied and harried onlookers. Among the monks is a former businessman. At the age of sixty, he gave up his fortune, his belongings, and his family to dedicate himself to the rigorous life of a Jaina mendicant. He will never again possess anything. He will spend the rest of his life wandering from village to village, dependent on others for sustenance, without ever calling any place home. His accomplishments as a businessman were many but are dwarfed before his glorious quest for world-negation. He has attained the highest goal of Jaina tradition. Even unknown passersby call him ‘Maha¯ra¯ja,’ honoring him for his courage and spiritual wisdom.
