________________
540
I am the Soul
finance. Making the State progress financially, making it prosper and enhancing the country's respect in other countries was the lookout of Vaishyas. The Shudras had to provide all the necessities of societal life.
Thus this arrangement had been made to ensure that the entire humanity could live fearlessly and honestly. So long as these values were maintained, everybody lived happily in harmony and in unity. But if the greatness achieved cannot be digested, then it leads to indigestion. The Kshatriyas, Brahmans and Vaishyas, in their conceit lost their balance and began to scorn the Shudras. They were given no rights at all – neither any status in the society nor the right to follow a religion. Ifa Shudra mistakenly entered the area of a temple or even if passed by from behind it and in doing so if unknowingly some chanting from the Vedas were to be heard by him, it would be treated as such a great crime that it would be punishable with nothing less than death. Not just that, even a great Bhakta-kavi like Tulasidas tells us on one hand about Ramachandra embracing members of a lowly tribal caste, while on the other he says that Shudras deserve to be beaten; they should be thrashed. Think Brothers! The limits to which the humanity in humans can decay and die.
Not just that, there came a time when the Kshatriyas began to think that religion was the bastion of only the courageous. We are the brave ones, so we alone have the right to observe the religion, none else. Certain scriptures could be read by Brahmans alone. Others do not even have the right to touch those scriptures. Thus in societal and religious areas, such customs began to gather momentum. So the disciple wonders as to a birth in which caste would lead to moksa.
The other question is moksa in what apparel? Broadly, the Jains believe that moksa will be attainable only if one dresses like a Jain. Not just that, the Digambers say that only as Digambers i.e. in nakedness, can moksa be attained. If there are
Jain Educationa International
For Personal and Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
