Economics of Mahaveera

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Adarsh Sahitya Sangh

Page 62

ECONOMICS OF MAHAVIRA
Making limited use of fibrous twigs for teeth brushing has been mentioned. Today the position is like this. When only a small twig for teeth brushing is needed, the entire branch of the neem tree will be cut. Gandhiji asked a foreign lady staying in the Ashram to bring a twig for brushing teeth. The lady went and she brought out the whole branch. Gandhiji reprimanded her strongly as if thousands of rupees had been lost. The people present there said, “Bapu, for such a trivial matter, you reprimanded that lady so much. There are so many neem trees here. Are all twigs needed for brushing teeth exhausted?" Gandhiji responded, “It is not only Gandhi living alone, the entire world is there for brushing teeth with twigs. If everybody starts doing like this, the neem tree will be extinct.”.
One of the pledges in Mahavira's schedule of consumption is the quantity of twigs for brushing of teeth. — dantavana vihipariwanam pukhuihiparimanam. Another pledge pertains to the limitation of the use of flowers, and yet another pertains to fruits — phal vihiparimanen. Still another pledge is on the limitation of articles of food — dravya parimanam. There is a limitation for all these things in Mahavira's prescribed schedule of limited consumption.
Policy for Removing Economic Disparities If today's prosperous society follows the committed society of Mahavira's time in respect of consumption, the problem of economic disparity would perhaps get automatically solved. Anand shravaka alone did not follow this. Five lakh people followed this throughout their lives. If today, a similar commune of five lakh people could be formed, it will be an exemplary thing for the whole world. Be it the pollution problem, the poverty problem, the problem of consumption, the production problem, the right and rational solution will emerge.
Fourteen Directives
In addition to the set of directives to be followed life long, there has to be for the one for day-to-day life. Everybody should decide the articles which he has to consume or use during the day. The