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FOREWORD
of degradation and pragmatic solutions for this seriously aggravating problem. It was published by Prakrit Bharati Academy in the year 2006. I suggested to Shri Jain to write another book on environment exclusively bringing out the environmental concerns and remedies enshrined in Jain scriptures. Shri Jain has laboured hard to refer almost all important canonical Jain scriptures and have systematically compiled salient doctrines of Jainism which address problems of environmental degradation and practical measures to solve them. He has quoted extensively from authentic Jain scriptures to establish environmental concerns in Jainism.
Prakrit Bharati Academy and Society for Scientific and Ethical Living, Jaipur are committed to bring out books which are enlightening for readers and relevant in evolving contexts. It is hoped that the book, "Environmental Doctrines of Jainism" written by Shri Jain will create awareness in people about environmental degradation and persuade them to take steps individually and collectively to stop further pollution and make efforts to restore it to optimum harmless level.
D.R.MEHTA Founder and
Chief Patron Prakrit Bharati Academy Jaipur
The whole world today is deeply concerned over the issues of ecology and environment. Right from a common man in the street up to the universal orgnisation like U.N.O. and the top most leaders of all nations talk about the measures to be taken for saving the world from a disastrous catastrophe that is definitely going to happen, if adequate measures are not taken in time. The discussions at numerous international meets and conferences echo the same concem, but so far only a little hope for avoiding this disaster has emerged.
It seems that so far little attention is paid to the spiritualistic measures which were suggested in the millennia old wisdom expressed in the sutrasmaxims and aphorisms-found in the vast Jain literature. These sutras are basically the expressions of universal truths realised through intuitional insight developed by spiritual practices. Shri S.M. Jain, the author of this book has made a fruitful effort to correlate those sutras with the environmental issues of the present day. He has mainly drawn them from the original canonical texts like Achamga Sutra, Sutrakritanga Sutra and the like. The author has also referred to the post-canonical works of the eminent Jain Acharyas.
The metaphysical doctrine of the existence of soul as a real substance is the base of the spiritualistic philosophy of Jainism. According to this doctrine, the objects like earth, water, fire, air and vegetation, which appear to be inanimate, are actually possessed of the soul, that is, they are all
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ENVIRONMENTAL DICTRINES OF JAINISM
FOREWORD
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