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Dr. Charlotte Krause : Her Life & Literature
reason and sense of those long prayers, hymns, etc., they mechanically recite, and of the various rites they daily perform without knowing why and where they could learn to connect the rigorous ascetical and other practices they have to undergo, with their beautiful philosophical justifications. The wealthy Jaina Setha, enthusiastic over his beloved religion, does spend lacs of rupees for religious purposes, such as pilgrimages, processions, Pūjāceremonies, etc. The famous pilgrimage of about four thousand Jaina laymen and four hundred ascetics, who went from Pāțaņa to Girnāra some years ago, had been undertaken and patronized by a well-known merchant prince of Gujarat : it had cost no less than about twelve lacs ( 12,00,000 ) of rupees. Many of them do spend money in this way out of the purest motifs; still they have not yet learned to spend it for educations, the very basis of all religion and culture, being over-anxious to see their sons and grand-sons earning money and becoming settled in life as early as possible.
That many noble Jaina families gave up their faith in consideration of the heterodox belief of a royal master to whom they were attached by service and tradition, and from whose more intimate company their caste restrictions cut them off, is also a well-known fact, illustrated by the example of the ancient minister families of the states Udaipur, Jodhpur, etc., whose ancestors, convinced and faithful Jainas, once acted a great part in the history of their countries.
Many of those discontented and disheartened Jainas who did not find the courage boldly to face those caste regulations, and who, on the other hand, did not desire to join the Vaisnava faith, ran into the open arms of the Arya Samāja, that institution of reasonably reformed and liberal-minded Hinduism which pays so much attention to education and which plays such an important part in the India of today. Many of those poor renegades may well have remained good Jainas in their heart of hearts, or even Jainas by conduct and observances : still what can the census report possibly
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