________________
"Religion is which is found in the streets, which is written upon the leaves, which is murmured in the brooks, which is whispered in the winds, which is throbbing in your veins and arteries, a religion which concerns your business and bosom, a religion which you have not to practice by going to a particular church, mosque or temple only, a religion which you have to practice and live in your everyday life."
Inspiration should be drawn for spiritual education from the life and teachings of great human personalities like Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Mahavir, Ram, and Krishna. They were all human beings of flesh and blood like us. They had access to material comforts. Yet they renounced earthly pleasures attained spiritual enlightenment and became 'path-leaders' and 'torch-bearers' for the entire humanity. Albert Einstein has rightly observed:
"What humanity owes to personalities like Buddha, Moses and Jesus ranks for me higher than all the achievements of the enquiring and constructive mind"?
CONCLUSION
Spiritual prosperity unlike material prosperity can be far more universally spread as it does not recognize or encourage artificial barriers created by greed, deceit exploitation and injustice. The vastly varying level of material prosperity has, as we have seen, divided the world into rich and poor, affluent and the deprived, luxury-ridden and the downtrodden. Spiritual prosperity is not a substitute for material prosperity. With fine pruning, prudence and restraint, material prosperity can continue to be enjoyed while progressing towards spiritual awakening.
Spiritual resurgence will get the desired momentum if we combine the catalytic forces of the timeless wisdom of the East with the glorious scientific and technological clout of the west to make this planet of our a much happier and safer place to live with stable peace for all of us irrespective of our geographical divide, varying cultural backgrounds,
Ahimsa: The Ultimate Winner
(90)
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
