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A. L. BASHAM In this day and age, when the world is preoccupying itself more and more with material things, and when traditional values are more and more being questioned, it is good that the message of Mahāvīra should be spread abroad as widely as possible. He himself taught that there was no prospect in this cycle of the world's eternal history for all men to achieve the final goal. Indeed, if I interpret Mahāvīra's doctrine aright, very few will ever reach the final goal among the infinite number of beings throughout the universe. Yet, by ordering his life rightly, any individual may in some manner transcend suffering and help other living beings to rise above the world of pain and evil, In days like these, when, for all the efforts of statesmen and political leaders, human suffering seems as great or greater than ever, it is good that the message of the Great Hero should be spread abroad.
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From the letter dated 17 Aug. 1971 of the author to Dr. A. N. Upadhye.
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