Sramana 2011 01

SR No.: 525075
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Sundarshanlal Jain, Shreeprakash Pandey
Publisher: Parshvanath Vidhyashram Varanasi
Publication Year: 2011
Total Pages: 172
Language: Hindi
Classification: Magazine, India_Sramana, & India
File Size: 15 MB

Page 147

Jains in Development Challenging Some 'Religion and.... : 129
the apparent ambivalence of the Jaina dharma towards development. On the one hand, a doctrinally-informed perspective, social involvement does not exist; and, there are not sufficient grounds for a Jaina theology of development. On the other hand, compassion is said to figure among the characteristics of right belief. The attitude fitting for this understanding of compassion is encapsulated by the popular bhajana "Meri Bhāvanā." Since J.K. Mukhtara composed it in 1916, this poem has become a prayer oft-recited daily at many Jaina-run schools. May distress and suffering no longer exist and may it rain on time; May the king be righteously inclined and do justice to all his subjects; May the diseases, epidemics and famine cease to spread and exist; May Ahimsā pervade the entire universe and bring benevolence to all. (Stanza 10) Meri Bhāvanā expresses a rightly-held desire for the welfare of others that includes a theology of good governance and social justice as a precondition for the cessation of diseases, epidemics and famine. These bhāvanās are inconsistent with ancient Jaina dharma, which did not teach responsibility towards famines, diseases and epidemics. Thus "Meri Bhāvanā" may well express the dynamic origins of Jains' social consciousness. Hostels, hospitals, clinics and schools were established in large numbers to serve the Jaina community; many of these are now public-service institutions. Though Paul Dundas claims that the "Jaina laity does not generally regard its attitudes towards matters of government policy" (2002, 191), it clearly seems that many Jains today do. Jaina theologies are produced by the ongoing anekānta dynamics explored in this study. Jains perspectives on social engagement are not that of extremes, but a series of partial perspectives ranging across a broad spectrum. This paper's topic requires further investigation. Jains play a key role for the future of India. This study concludes that Jains are indeed 'in' development.