Jaina Community a Social Survey

SR No.: 007019
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Vilas Sangve
Publisher: Popular Book Depot Bombay
Publication Year: 1980
Total Pages: 484
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 12 MB

Page 301

Juini Ethics and Miscellaneous Customs and Manners
275
in Jainism or desire to take specialised subjects. In giving scholar
ips it is necessarily seen that the student is religious minded. It can be said without any exaggeration that the spread of higher education among the Jainas is mainly due to the help rendered to them through the means mentioned above. Such institutions are really a boon to the poor students as they are helped in a critical > pericd of their life. But like other institutions these institutions
of an educational character also are purely sectarian. While the Mahāvīra Brahmacharyasrama is meant for the Digambaras, the Yasovijaya Jaina Gurukula is for the Švetāmbaras only. The Boarding Houses and Scholarship Funds are reserved for members of one or the other sect or sub-sect. In the case of scholarship funds even further divisions are made. The scholarships are Sometimes exclusively earmarked for students of a particular caste or sub-caste coming from a certain locality only. It is but natural that the separatist tendency is created in the minds of the students as they are made to feel that they belong to a certain section or sub-section. The Mahāvīra Jaina Vidyālaya of Bombay is probably the biggest Jaina institution giving residential accommodation and scholarships to the students, but it is exclusively reserved for the Mūstipujaka Svetāambara Jainas only. In educational centres like Bombay and Poona there are separate Boarding Houses for the Digambara, Šventāmbara, and Sthānakavāsi Jaina students and even though they are situated very near each other, still there is hardly any communication among them. As the students trained in this atmosphere become the active members in the community, it is no wonder that they perpetuate the same separatist policies. In Greater Bombay the population of Jainas is about two and a half lacs but there is hardly any educational institution which is open to all Jainas irrespective of sect or caste. Recently small beginnings have been made to start Boarding Houses giving accommodation to Jainas of all sects, e. g., “The United Jaina Home" in Bombay is open to all Jainas and in Värānasi “ The Parsvanātha Vidyāśrama " is open to Jainas and non-Jainas alike.