Book Title: Applied Philosophy of Anekanta
Author(s): Shashiprajna Samni
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati Institute

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Page 187
________________ Today disputes between man or states or countries is because their views vary. Views are bound to differ, because we are guided by different conditions, thoughts, modes and attitudes. Hence it is wrong to think oneself right and rest others wrong. We are all, which ever part of the world, we come from, persuaded that our own nation is superior to all others. Seeing that each nation has its characteristic merits and demerits, we adjust our standard of values so as to make out that the merits possessed by our nation are the really important ones, while its demerits are comparatively trivial. The only way I know of dealing with this general human conceit is to remind ourselves that man is a brief episode in the life of a small planet, in a little corner of the universe, and that for aught we know, other parts of the cosmos may contain beings superior to ourselves as we are to jelly fish. It is multi-dimensional perspective which envisages us to just turn our global perspective by recognizing the existence of the other human as human. During Gandhian period (1869-1949), our history witnessed the sudras that were considered as untouchables and they were prohibited to enter into temples, their children's were not allowed to admit in certain schools, they were not allowed to touch the water pot and even touch the Brahmins. If any śudra violated this, he would be punished severely. The novel'Untouchable' written by Mulkaraj Anand highlights the social behaviour with śudras. In this novel, he writes, "they clean our dirt, so they are untouchable.If it is so then every one of us are untouchable as we also clean our dirt". Such open-mindedness in thought is the need of the hour. The central philosophy of Richard Rorty is achievement of Human solidarity i.e. to consider the other person not like external, outsider or foreigner, but as one amongst us. Rorty has given five examples how it threatened the human Nemichandra Šāstrī. Visva śānti aur Jaina Dharma, p. 23 i 164

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