________________
104
Indian Ethnicity and Religious Heritage
There are two ways to do this. One is to suffer clamly and patiently the consequences as and when they arise. But you do not know when they would arise Therefore you should accept the course of hard penances and austerities which are not adopted with any ulterioe motive of gaining any advantage - not even for getting Siddhahood. This process is called "Nirjara."
The corner stone of Jain metaphysics is Ahimsa. The root cause of human actions is our thnking process. Jains have introduced the process of Ahimsa even in our thinking process by their doctrine of Anekantvad which is also known as "Syadvad". It asks you to avoid absolutism and to consider all possible stand points, including the stand point of your opponent before arrviing at the final conclusion. They have evolved seven formulas showing how to do this called "Sptabhangi".
These are the bare outlines of Jainism without touching other important details.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
