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ECONOMICS OF MAHAVIRA
related to all times, refrigerators would not have been invented. The machines to maintain things cold or hot as desired would not have been designed. Today these limitations have become evident. These machines are only of momentary and not of eternal use. All objects which the scientists have invented appear to me to be momentary, not eternal. After sometime, we see that they become dysfunctional.
On the other hand, whatever Mahavira said thousands of years ago is very useful even today and will continue to be so. He did not carry out his analysis based on machines, but did it on the basis of spiritual introspection, on the basis of inner perception. Machine is physical, inner perception is sublime. Inner perception is for all times, it is not monetary.
It was said that there should be control of desires. People used to regard this as an idle, meaningless talk. How foolish it is to say that one should stop thinking, visualising. That would impede the development of the country. People say, 'You do not inspire your shravakas (devotees). They would remain as they are- stagnate'. But today there is a perceptible and pervasive demand that there should be limits, restraints.
Synthesising Spiritualism and Materialism
Mahavira harmonised spiritualism and materialism. In the ancient times, the issue Brahma satyam jagat mithya (Brahma, the eternal spirit is real, the world is an illusion) was debated. Should the world, which exists before us, be called an illusion? How can an object which is visible be non-existent. Mahavira expressed the view that materialism is true and the soul is also true. Is matter not real? If life is real, is death not real? Both are real.
Whatever Mahavira said was said on the basis of experienced perception. He said that if one wanted to turn somebody spiritual all at once, he would not succeed. Make your move in that direction gradually. Augment his yearning; sharpen his yearning for knowledge, the work will get done automatically. In fact, there is a great need for showing the way to today's man who has gone astray? The entire world is becoming materialistic. It believes that wealth is the main thing. It is necessary to change this mentality. Continuous effort should be made in this direction.
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