Development And Impact Of Jainism In India And Abroad

Author(s): Gunvant Barvalia
Publisher: Arham Spiritual Center

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Development & Impact of Jainism in India & Abroad
During the drought from Vikram Samvat 1313 to 1315 - Jagadusha opened his graneries to the people irrespective of their caste or religion. Acharya Vijayvallabhsuriji offered donation for the construction of Gurudwara for the Sikhs. Acharya Buddhisagarji opened a hostel for the Dalits. Jayantmuniji works for the welfare of the Adivasis. The greatest example is that of Virayatan. And there are schools, hospitals and community kitchens built by Jain which admit people of all religious hues. About 400 years ago, Akbar and in recent times Gandhiji felt attracted towards Jainism known for its catholic outlook and philosophy of Anekant. Gandhiji studied the anekant philosophy while in South Africa and he said that it helped him to look at a Hindu from a Hindu's perspective and a Muslim from Muslim's. Jain religion's Syadvad and interfaith programmes can become a bedrock for unity and harmony and Jains diaspora can
contribute a lot in this direction. (C) CHARITRA WING
This will be action oriented.A wing dealing with charitable and relief activities at the time of natural or man-made calamities such as floods, earthquake, tsunami, violence, conflicts etc. There should be a political wing which can present the views of the Jains before their respec tive governments. There should be a separate wing dealing with business, trade and commerce such as the JITO working in Mumbai. With a view to enabling participation of Jains in different important events, a brochure should be brought out giving names, addresses, profession, E-mail, fax number and such other useful details. The broad objectives of the central body may be as
under: (1) To unite the Jains of the world under a single canopy and to ensure exchange of information
among them. (2) On the international level or between different religions of the world, concerted efforts should
be made to forcefully present the views of the Jain religion on important principles, tenets etc. (3) To awaken the Jains against the divisive attempts that are being made against our religion and
to oppose such moves and actions. For instance, a lot of religious conversionn activities are
going on or the false propaganda that is being conducted by bodies like Anop Mandal. (4) To make concerted efforts to propagate and spread the principles of non-violence, Anekant
etc. and to organise programmes aimed at creating awareness about them. The coordinators and the office bearers may visit different countries and appraise the local people of their activities. The president of the JAINA visits different towns and cities in India whenever he visits that country and appraises the local people about the activities that are being conducted by JAINA in the US. I appeal to one and all to make concerted efforts under the auspices of such an umbrella organisation and, in the words of Swami Vivekanand, we must arise, awake and stop not' till our goal is reached. The enlightened community must not wait for a messiah to come to us and stir us into action. Our salvation lies in action, now and here.