Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia

15. Toward a Typology of South Asian Lay Vows

249 15 Toward a Typology of South Asian Lay Vows SELVA J. RAJ AND WILLIAM P. HARMAN As you make your way through the final pages of this volume, you may find yourself perplexed by the breadth of traditions discussed here and by the bewildering variations that typify lay vows found in those traditions. There are the more public, temple-based vows as well as the private, domestic-based vows; the orthodox, officially sanctioned vows as well as the unorthodox, unconventional vows of the “god-intoxicated” devotees; the vows intended to amass spiritual power and eventual liberation as well as the vows that seek to garner benefits for mundane pursuits like healing, fertility, employment, and marriage; the corporate vows seeking health and prosperity for the family as well as the individual , private, unspoken vows secretly seeking personal benefits; the vows that reinforce orthodox religious boundaries as well as the vows that defy and transgress these boundaries, rendering them irrelevant; the gender-specific vows as well as the gender-neutral vows, performed in settings both private and public; the vows that create or reinforce devotees’ identities as well as the vows that permit people to transcend identities of caste, religion, and gender; and— finally—the vows that marginalize the religiously privileged as well as the vows that privilege the socially and religiously marginalized. Toward a Tentative Typology of South Asian Vows To say that variety is the essence of lay religious life in South Asia is an understatement. Variegation permeates the religious and ritual fabric of the subcontinent . Accordingly, these essays reflect a pluralistic understanding of what 250 Selva J. Raj and William P. Harman a “vow” can be. It becomes useless to speak of one uniform type applicable to the whole gamut of South Asian traditions, but it may be useful to seek out a few patterns. We have not, then, opted for a chaos-induced despair. Rather, we want to suggest that there are various types or categories of vows, and within these categories there are specifiably patterned variations. We begin by classifying South Asian lay vows into two broad currents. These currents are suggested by the first two categories under which the chapters in our table of contents are arranged. The first is “Getting What You Want,” or what we would call “mundane vows,” and the second category is “Getting What You Need,” or what we would call “soteriological vows.” Soteriological vows are concerned with each individual’s ultimate spiritual achievement, with what we all suspect we need to be concerned eventually. But that need is easier for most of us to postpone. Mundane vows, on the other hand, are concerned with achieving the good life in society, and with materialism, stability, and order. Vows taken in relation to soteriological goals are diffuse, and point toward transcendent and ultimate ends that could be described as otherworldly , thus not easily specified. Vows taken in relation to the mundane concerns are nonsoteriological, proximate rather than ultimate, and very much this-worldly. Soteriological vows pursue salvation in the world(s) to come, such as liberation from rebirth, salvation, nirvana, or heavenly bliss. Mundane vows pursue prosperity and success right now, in this world, and include vows for passing exams, healing, fertility, and prosperity. Soteriological vows are about getting “saved” eventually; mundane vows are about living well now. Soteriological vows tend to be personal and individual, and only secondarily communal. The communal dimension is frequently subordinate to the personal spiritual quest commonly referred to as liberation or salvation. In the case of the Ramananda ascetics described by Lamb, the communal dimension plays an ancillary role. It assists, supports, and guides the individual’s quest for soteriological goals. Also, the soteriological vows usually have explicit or tacit approval of the elite, textual tradition of religious orthodoxy. These may be gender-specific as in the case of Hindu women’s vrats or gender-neutral, observed either in the domestic space or in the public arena. The distinctions between these two major categories of vows are not always clear-cut. Performing a series of mundane vows may be understood as preparing the ground for greater achievements on a person’s soteriological path. Any vow conscientiously performed invokes supernatural powers seen valuable for eventual soteriological gain. And yogis who perform great feats of selfsacrifice for the sake of spiritual detachment or improved rebirth may claim that these acts also invest them with valuable this-worldly talents, such as the ability to see the future or the...