ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 76

1.1.d
Social Consciousness, its initiation, rejuvenation and adoption in Jainism
Dr. Shugan C Jain
1.1 Social consciousness": Social consciousness is consciousness shared within a society*. It can also be defined as social awareness; to be aware of the problems that different societies and communities** face on a day-to-day basis; to be conscious of the difficulties and hardships of society. Some people define social consciousness as a society's consciousness of itself. Others argue against this definition, saying that society does not have a mind of its own, and therefore is not conscious: rather, the people that make up society are individually conscious. Social consciousness is similar to collective consciousness. In Jain philosophy consciousness is said to manifest as dar ana (intuition or awareness) and j na (knowledge)
Many studies have been done to examine the roots of social consciousness. It is believed to arise as a response to social injustice experienced by the individual or in the lives of others around the individual. There are three levels of social consciousness*** namely acquired, awakened, and expanded. Social consciousness brings moral implications. Often, people with an awakened social consciousness become socially active. A socially conscious person tends to be empathetic towards others regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, class, or sexual identity.
# This section is based on articles from Wikipedia
* A society is a body of individuals that is outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, comprising also possible characters or conditions such as national, cultural identity and solidarity etc. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive culture and institutions.. Like other communities or groups, a society allows its individual members to achieve needs or wishes that they could not fulfil separately by themselves without the existence of solidarity. A society may be a particular ethnic group, such as the Saxons, a nation state like Bhutan, a broader cultural group, such as an Asian Society. The word society may also refer to an organized voluntary association of people for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes.
** Community: Traditionally a "community" has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location. The word is often used to refer to a group that is organized around common values and social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household. The word can also refer to the national community or global community with the advent of internet technology.
***Acquired: A subject with an acquired social consciousness derives his or her viewpoint from the mainstream culture. This individual avoids identifying himself or herself with a marginalized culture. This individual generally is either not aware of or does not acknowledge the way that differences among people affect the way that they are treated within society. The individual is not fully active in society. The person with an acquired social consciousness does not question mainstream viewpoints, and acts accordingly, without confrontation. Awakened: A subject with an awakened social consciousness explores alternatives to the dominant cultural viewpoint this person might identify with a marginalized group, but the mainstream culture is central to his or her questioning or exploration. The subject recognizes and challenges social injustice. The person actively resists power and authority. The focus of discontent and action is often over the right to be visible, to have choice, or to be self determining. Expanded: A subject with an expanded social consciousness strongly identifies with their marginalized group. This person views status as a continuously changing social construct, thus viewing responses as a lifelong process. This individual has an understanding of the complexity of the social hierarchy, and acts carefully after weighing both sides.
In the context of Jainism, work by Late Prof Vilas A Sanghave (retired professor sociology at Shivaji University Kolhapur) was of pioneering nature. Michael Carrithers and Caroline Humphery in their book *Assembly of Listeners Jains in Society' (based on papers presented at the conference on 'Jains in society' held at Cambridge in June 1985) lists five criterions for considering Jains as a community in their position paper. We shall discuss social consciousness in Jainism keeping these in mind. There are also a number of other studies by John Cort (Jains in the world), Paul Dundas (The Jains), James Laidlaw (Riches and renunciation) etc studying specific segments of Jain communities in Jaipur, Patan and Ahmedabad.
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0