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 184

Jainism in Economic Perspective
171
human wants are unlimited. In this situation it is not possible to gratify unlimited wants by limited means. A pond where millions of gallons of water can rest, to put a few gallons of water would be insignificant.?
The idea of limited means and unlimited wants may be well regarded as a good analogy to Robbins' definition of Economics. The curtailment of wants resulting into the state of wantlessness is of immense importance in this connection. Jainism has pleaded limitation on innumerable desires rather then limiting essential wants required to keep body and soul together. Joy in possession' must be forbidden because it is the root cause of all the maladies haunting the present world. It is the joy in possession which increases human desires to an unlimited extent. Desires have been compared with a vehicle having enormous speed which needs to be checked.
So aparigraha is a great vow, a Mahāvrata; monks and nuns are required to practise it - to have no attachment to anything, wealth, property, animals or grains. But for the laity aparigraha is prescribed as an Annvrata - small vow. The commandment to retain no more than necessary (Parigraha - viramanavrata) provided but a very elastic restriction to their extensive accumalation of wealth. Mrs. Stevenson (Heart of Jainism) mentions the motive offering of a Jaina of a recent past to earn, ‘no more than Rs. 45,000, and to give the surplus as a gift, whereby apparently it was assumed that to earn this amount presented no difficulties.
Thus said Ananda (the great devotee) unto the Lord' with tonsured head I cannot court total renunciation. But from the Beloved of the God, do embrace the five asuvratas and seven lessons, total twelve, as prescribed for the laity.
Then he limited his will as to coins of gold to four crores that lay underground, and four crores that lay invested and the four crores that was the value of his property.'
A wealthy person like Ananda who could retain a total of 12 crores of gold coins with him without breaking the vow of nonpossession is a self evident instance of the Flexibility of the vow for the laity. The distribution of the enormous wealth under three heads by Ananda reveals a few interesting points. Out of the total