Book Title: Family and Nation
Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya, A P J Abdulkalam
Publisher: Harper Publications India

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Page 131
________________ CREATING HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS 117 capitalism through a capitalistic system. The solution lies only in awakening man's spiritual consciousness and instilling in him an awareness of renunciation and selfrestraint. As an African proverb says, “Two hundred cattle are under one stick, but two hundred human beings are under two hundred sticks.' THE ACT OF TRANSFORMATION Is it not a matter of great surprise that though we have sown a seed and a tree has grown, it has borne no fruit? The seed of the knowledge that we sow does grow to be a big tree, but it is bereft of fruit. The fruit of knowledge is conduct. In the human brain, there is a specialized region where knowledge is processed and another region where conduct is cultivated. While freedom of the self is very important to good health, mindfulness about the value of another's freedom is equally important. To know that all humans are equal and all souls are equal is theoretical knowledge. To translate it into action, the practice of conduct (aachaara) is required. A little contemplation would tell us: 'As I don't like suffering, others too would not like it. Just as I am free to amass means of comfort, others are also free to do so. My freedom should not usurp the freedom of others. I should take care that I don't become an impediment in the way of others trying to collect means of comfort. This sort of ethical conduct is an empirical aspect of the principle of equality. If we enter the periphery of a still subtler world, we will realize how we create obstacles in the path of others' freedom. Before creating such hurdles, we should ponder the fact that we cannot harm others without harming ourselves. We cannot take away others' freedom without our own freedom being taken away. Theoretical doctrine and philosophy, no doubt, have their due importance. But they cannot help us attain the state Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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