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Appendix XV
Essential Features of Righteousness
Supreme forgiveness, humility, straightforwardness, truthfulness, purity, self-restraint, austerity, renunciation, detachment and continence are the ten characteristics of those who opt to tread the path of righteousness. Proper utilisation of human birth, which enables the adherence to this royal road, will surely beget heavenly world.
The above-mentioned essential features of “righteousness” have been spelt out in Jainism, which is an integral part of India's rich religious and cultured heritage. The Jaina ethics embraces the notion of compassion and harmlessness. Right faith, right knowledge and right conduct are three jewels of Jaina wisdom, which lays equal emphasis on the practice of non-violence, truth, non-possessiveness, non-stealing and celibacy.
Beginning from today, for one week, the Jains will celebrate the festival 'Paryūśāņa Parva' when they will conduct various rituals for self-purification. On the concluding day there will be emphasis on “forgiveness”, according to Shri Dulichand Jain, who explaining in his lecture said, the study of the Jaina canonical texts paved the way to gain advance spiritual thoughts.
Righteousness is the first step on the ladder of liberation and one having right faith knows what is to be relinquished and what is to be accomplished. Just as a threaded needles does not get lost even when it falls in a heap of rubbish, so too a person endowed with sacred knowledge will not miss his way in the worldly
* The Hindu, 7 September 1999
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