________________
IDEALS FOR A NEW WORLD ORDER
29
sciences, if they had chosen so to do, but they knew very well that all such sciences only tended to divert the attention from the real side of life, made man a slave of the senses and the world, and led him to worship Mammon instead of 'GOD'!
Even to-day if you want to introduce real reform you will have to always bear in mind the fact that only two alternatives are open to man: on the one hand the pursuit of materialism that places the body in the forefront of things, and loses itself in studying its needs; and on the other, the devoting of attention to the Soul which is the repository of all Divine Perfections and Joy. On the first path, you may ameliorate sickness and misery to a certain extent, but you also produce them and that on a much grander scale. Greed is the prevailing passion, and death the only certain end on this path! On the second path, on the other hand, bodily suffering, for a short while, is cheerfully endured to attain to Life everlasting, Joy undiminishing, Knowledge unlimited! I think the case is correctly put in the Epistle of St. Paul (Romans, viii. 18). “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us."--Romans, viii. 18. The Path of Materialism, I have said, is the path of Greed; but Love is the characteristic of the belief in the Divinity of the Soul. Those who worship Mammon always hate one another. For this reason all purely materialistic sciences always tend to foster hatred, while Religion, whenever it is properly understood, will engender love in the human heart. It is true that to-day there is so much talk of. peace and disarmament and all that kind of thing; but surely there is a great deal of difference between talk and accomplishment, and even if an accomplishment in these regards is effected, the question will alway be for how long?' I am quite anxious that the labours of men who are taking part in the peace movement should be fruitful, but I cannot shut my
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org