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Jaina thinkers hold the view that reality is complex. It has many facets, various attributes and various modes. It can be viewed and understood from different angles and thus various judgments may be made about it. Even two contradictory statements about an object may hold true. Since we have finite capability, we can know or experience only a few facets of reality at a time. We cannot grasp the reality in its totality. We can have only a partial and relative view of reality. On the basis of partial and relative view of reality, how can we claim the right to discard the view of our opponents as totally false? Dogmatism and fanaticism are the born children of absolutism. Non-absolutism of Jainas prevents the individual from being dogmatic and one-sided approach. In the Sūtrakrtānga it is stated that those who praise their own faith, dispraise their opponents, and possess malice against them will remain confined to the cycle of birth and death!
In the history of world religion Jainism has had been considered the most tolerate, amenable and regardful of other faiths and ideologies. This is very important to discard the present trend of religious terrorism. We must believe in the unity of all religions, but unity, according to us, does not imply omnivorous unity in which all religions lose their entity and identity. We should believe in the unity in which all religions will join with each other to form an organic whole without losing their own independent existence. In other words, we should believe in a harmonious coexistence or a liberal synthesis in which all components maintain their intrinsic features and work for the common goal of peace of mankind and, Jainas very much hold the same sense of social consciousness. Jainism, Social Engineering & Social Consciousness
In any society individuals get different kinds of status and honors and accordingly it originate different kinds of strata, and this is called social stratification. Those who always and continuously attain honor and status become symbol of prestige group, and it may be ascribed and achieved. Caste (jāti) and class (varna) are the two principal components of social stratification. Caste system is an important social institution, which is deeply concerned with religion. Caste system is a kind of hierarchy, which may be hereditary, endogamous, and groups of occupation where social status of different caste of course is fixed but among the castes there is clear-cut differences based on their religion. Social engineering is a modular concept of social stratification where each and every component of a society get due importance irrespective of caste and class.
The most significant contribution of Jainism in the social field has had been the establishment of social equality among the four classes (brāhamana, ksatriya, vaisya and sūdra), prevalent in the society. They were (is) said to have
Arhat Vacana, 23 (1-2), 2011
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| SR No. | 526589 |
| Book Title | Arhat Vachan 2011 01 04 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Anupam Jain |
| Publisher | Kundkund Gyanpith Indore |
| Publication Year | 2011 |
| Total Pages | 140 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Classification | Magazine, India_Arhat Vachan, & India |
| File Size | 2 MB |