Page Text
________________
136
THE JAINA GAZETTE.
society is grounded almost exclusively on considerations of temporal good while the Indian system aimed at a wider scope and greater consistency by including within its all-embracing ambition the future well-being of the soul as a migrating ego. For this reason while legal prohibition in respect of sexual indulgence stops short with adultery aud rape, and whilo society is not quite in tolerant of concubinage, though it looks upon it with disfavour, religion goes beyond both law and society and imposes various kinds of limitations on connubial freedom itself, finally enjoining nothing short of complete abstention in Sinnyâsa. The principle underlying the injunction is that Kâma and Artha in any particular incarnation of the soul depend upon and are obtained by the force of punya (religious merit) acquired in a previous life, so that those who do not acquire spiritual me rit, which means the spirit of renunciation, here in this life, will find themselves stranded in adversity hereafter.
We thus perceive that there is no real disharmony in a layo man's life, nor any conflict between his ideals. The different Ashramas or divisions into which the principal Indian religions divide a layman's life are also co-related with different ideals in a scientific way. The child upto the 6th year of his life is too immature to be trained for the house-bolder's Dharma and is only moulded into submissiveness by his parents at home. But he is ripe for education on completing the 6th year of his life and is then placed in the charge of a qualified teacher for instruction. In the education that is imparted to him emphasis is laid on spiritual knowledge, so that he should understand Dharma which is to control his future activities in every department of life. Modern education it will be seen differs in this respect from the ancient system, and we see the result in the soul-less type of humanity so much in evidence in the modern European War that will not be easily forgotten for its deeds of frightfulness all round. Another striking particular in respect of which the ancient system differs from the modern is this that while the former insisted upon profundity of thought the latter mainly fosters shallow speech. The mosó brilliaut products of our Universities are men whose intellectualism may be said to possess length and breadth but no depth. This is partly due to the exaggerated emphasis on embellished diction which delights in the employment of borrowed metaphor
| SR No. | 542650 |
| Book Title | Jain Gazette 1920 06 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Jagnanderlal Jaini, Ajit Prasada, C S Mallinath Jain |
| Publisher | Jaina Gazette Office |
| Publication Year | 1920 |
| Total Pages | 36 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Magazine, India_Jain Gazette, & India |
| File Size | 7 MB |