Bhagavana Mahavira and his Relevance in Modern Times

Author(s): Narendra Bhanavat, Prem Suman Jain, V P Bhatt
Publisher: Akhil Bharat Varshiya Sadhumargi Jain Sangh

Page 118

World Paoblems and Jain Ethics
Discipline :
Sublimation is akin to discipline, the organisation of powers, the canalisation of energy, in the service of social ends whose value has been perceived. It will be observed that the essence of discipline is self-control from within and that it is the very opposite of repression from out-side. One is not drilled into discipline; one grows into it as one learns to find ones own good, in the general good and to pursue it unflinchingly. Discipline is a constructive force, a positive, not a negative control. It directs the flow of energies into specific channels; produces thoroughness and a sense of responsibilities. It is at once the socialisation and the individualization of the mind. It contains a large intellectual elements, a perception of the meaning of caste, a choice among the divergent tendencies induced by the various factors of all facts and difficulties and an adjustment to the ends conceived and the means available. Discipline furnishes the supreme illustration of the interpenetration of intelligence and morality. Social concepts, the meaning of social institutions and situations must be so thoroughly grasped as to be integrated within the activities of life. The disciplined person continually recreates the moral order in which he has his being and contributes continuously to the moral life of the society of which he is a part.
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Self-control :
In social relationships, this discipline may be described as self-control. It is the foundation of all higher moral life in its social, economic and political aspects. Custom or law would be powerless in the absence of self-control on the part of those whom they seek to guide. A certain measure of self-control is fortunately present in every society. It is necessary, however, to deepen it as well as to enlighten it, so that it may form the basis and radiate an energy requisite for the type of economic state that would foster universal welfare.
Stoicism (Aparigraha) :
The discipline (Samyama) inculcated by the fourth Aņuvrata leads logically to the fifth and last of the Aņuvratas. It is called Aparigraha and is in its many implications original to Jainism. It really denotes a certain self-restraint in the face of pleasures, a certain stoicism before temptations, a certain detachment from