________________
perception and the other is spiritual perception. One entails discomfort of compulsion and the other the contentment of detachment.
Intolerance is a natural human trait. Man can not tolerate a person with divergent ideas. Pride is also a natural human trait. Man considers only his belief to be true. To him beliefs of others are false. He wants to thrust his belief on others. Rejection by others leads to strife. Disagreement between individuals is limited to a few people but disagreement between countries leads to a war. Thanks to this intolerance and pride that co-existence of people with diverse beliefs has become impossible.
Universal beatitude can be attained through truth and not falsity. Dogmatism and intolerance cannot lead to truth. Only a combination of ideological tolerance, attitude of exploring truth, feeling of universal beatitude, and assimilative mentality can lead to truth. The Jain doctrine of Syādvāda (the doctrine of qualified assertion) is a humble effort of harmonization and assimilation of various schools of thoughts and beliefs. Socialism, communism, feudalism, democracy and other such systems are neither absolutely true nor absolutely false. Only the ! fraction related to universal beatitude or people's welfare included in these **** systems is good and worth accepting; the fraction related to exploitation, injustice, and tyranny is false and worth rejecting. Syādvāda inspired attitude can help bring about harmony and coexistence among these diverse systems. All these systems may exist but with a change. They should not only consider the benefits of the people of their countries but also think about and work for the benefits of the whole human society. They should refrain from exploiting and doing injustice to people of other countries for the sake of the benefits of their own people. If people of various classes, colours, castes, races and other diversities also acquire this attitude than they all can live together. It is not possible for divergent ideologies to co-exist peacefully without accepting the ideology of Sydavāda.
Today the world lives in the shadow of fear and terror. Everyone is apprehensive of what the future has in store for him. There is an ongoing debate between violence and non-violence about how to establish peace. The world has seen two experiments of establishment of peace with the help of war during this century. The world population does not have the courage to go for the same experiment the third time.
312
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org