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YOOXYC ŞII ANI OXYOX small child is enormous. Bigotry and intolerance are perhaps the greatest enemies of peaceful co-existence and a life dedicated to truth. Course material of religious educational books should be amended or even re-written so as to weed out sectarian and such other elements that are detrimental to peace and wellbeing in the society. The attitude of impressing over the child's mind that the concepts, theories, doctrines and practices etc stated in a particular text are the whole and the only truth should be abandoned by all concerned but particularly by the educationist. The child should be encouraged to explore different alternatives pertaining to a particular topic with an unbiased mind so that s/he may be trained in the art of objective assessment of available inputs to ascertain the truth.
(11) Doubt, non-acceptance of any view without being intellectually convinced about its veracity, rejection of even minor items mentioned in Jaina scriptures etc. are considered transgression of faith. Hence such tendencies are discouraged and threatened by instigating fear of eternal doom. This obviously demands sheepish mentality accepting whatever is written in the scripture at its face value. Actually, there is a need to discriminate between the core principles of morality, religion and spirituality on the one hand and the ancillary items in the precept. On should certainly emphasise the core and benevolent principles and adhere to them to the highest extent possible while other ideas, practices, etc that have been instituted due to
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XXXC şiI4&I I XXX historical, geographical and such occasional factors should be modified as per the demands of time and place to safe guard the core principles. The out dated subsidiary principles can even be discarded if and when adherence to them become contrary to the core principles. Unbiased critical analysis, scientific approach, comparative study to understand how a particular problem or issue is tackled by other schools of thought and to accept that view which appears to be most plausible are the true hallmarks of an objective study and genuine concern for truth. This indeed is closest to the Jaina spirit as enshrined in the doctrines of Anekanta, Syadvad and nayavada. Fortunately for the avid seeker of truth, print and electronic media have made available substantial amount of comparative and critical literature on almost every field. Surveying the relevant material sympathetically yet objectively and with a critical acumen can clear the cobwebs of ingnorance and blind adherence to unwholesome beliefs and practices.
(12) The Jaina code of conduct prohibits the householder from engaging in 15 types of occupations that are considered detrimental to spiritual wellbeing. In the modern world, it is hard to adhere to this precept as alomost all occupations and avenues of investment are linked in some way or the other to one or more of these 15 prohibited occupations. The way out of this situation is probably to ignore the scruples related to the prohibited list in order to clear the conscience and tackle the problem by addressing
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