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HET ETET 317.
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coreligionist at real or fancied im. of Jainism, the latter forsake, the piety of our Jaina brotheren seems galling conventionalities of the creed to me to be mute and helpless like of their birth, by the up-to-date the arm of a waxen doll. Wide awake atteredisms that hail from without and cynicism smiles at jains creficising the that keep up continuous alliance with "low"customs and unclean" "immoral” the forces of the material world which and practices of others; just as it may, the Jaina- prophets despised and smile at the kettle calling the pot-black! conquered, and which in its, turn In literacy the Jains are not the despise and tyranimise over the most backward of the Indian peoples deteriorating Jainas of today! 80 far as statistical percentages go. But Anyone taking a dispassionate statistics are very deluding and we and not over optimestic view of things must remember the Jainas total only can see that the above is not an exag. just a little more than one million gerated account of the ills of our souls in all the wide, wide world in people. We are disorgonised, uneduca. the population of the globe the Jainas ted, without effective social and pubare a mere handful. It is enogh to lic institutions, our numbers are growmake us hang down our heads in ing less; our wealth is going down, something like shame, to compare our whole community is decaying. our expansion and our achievements We are on the path to disollution with our claims and traditions. So it and death. But this fatal progress can not be denied that our intellec- can be stopped. The remedy is in tual training is very, very defective, our hands. We must organise ourCan omniscience (nirvana) be pursued selves, educate ourselves; we must by such training? Jainas boasted of have a good enjoyable social life in untold treasures which they made line with the modern lives of by trade but where are these trea- the best and most advanced gures ! Almost every kind of Jaina people of the east and the west, We public need is starved for want of must throw.open the fold of Jainism funds. As to our public spirit, can liberally and frankly to all; we must a dying man dance ! If the com- organise our trading and banking munity is dying we are not surprised resources ; we must help and uplift at the lack of public spirit or sacrifice the whole community physically, in our men. Listless indifference, morally, socially and spiritually. Will mocking levity, blind superstition are the Jains apply the remedy and the three unholy strands which choke perhaps save their tottering fraternity the life down in our community.Older. from utter,down-fall? I prey and men are all censure and dissatisfaction; hope they inay, when there is even younger men impatient and superci- the sixtieth minute of the twelfth lious. The fomer do nothing, only cri- hour left to them ! ticise and call it preserving the purity
