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Beginning the college experience is like walking through a door into a room. This is no ordinary room though, it is filled with opportunities, opportunities that exist to help. you grow and learn to understand the differences that bring people together... and tear them apart. In the time you spend at a university, you will be exposed to a more diverse crowd than at any other time in your life. I can't say this for certain though, considering that I'm still in college, but as I look at others, both younger and older, I find that their environment doesn't have nearly the diversity found presently in my life. Adults have found their own niche in life and youngsters are forced into theirs. At college, with no parental control and no forced design, you are allowed to run free . . . and make all the mistakes and discoveries one could ever imagine in a lifetime.
Into a Room Vihar Sheth
Enter Jainism - That is if you choose to let it follow you into that room, through that door. The philosophy known to many of you as Jainism can either endure as a guide or subsist as a hindrance as you assimilate into the role of a college student. As the unknown layers of your life unfold, you and your peers grow witness to an evolution of character and development only equaled by the lightning-fast maturation of an infant child. Many teenagers feel confusion and uncertainty as they age into adulthood. Whether they fight inner battles of self-worth or toy with sexual orientation and foreign substances, teenagers are ceaselessly looking for level ground to stand on, to feel comfortable with the way they look in the mirror and how they feel about themselves inside.
You will discover as you get to school whether
"Harmlessness is the only religion."
- Unknown
"Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it." - Seneca
Jain Education International
"Truth, self-control, asceticism, generosity, non-injury, constancy in virtue - these are the means of success, not caste or family."
- Mahabharata
Jainism is or isn't for you. My personal experiences have revealed to me that the ethical component of Jainism was far more important to me than the spiritual. Jainism is often referred to as a Way of Life, and to me, it was exactly this that I wanted to extract from the Jain philosophy. I wanted to figure out how I should live my life day to day and how to be as whole and honest as possible while still being successful. The principles of Jainism helped me formulate a strategy to use in every aspect of my life, from the food I eat to my interaction with other people. I'm a vegetarian not because Jainism says to be, but because Jainism gave me the opportunity to discover that I thought eating meat was ethically wrong. The ethics of Jainism rest in my subconscious and they assist me in making decisions. The tolerance Jainism taught gave me the power to be patient and accepting of new ideas and alternative ways of life... even if they disagree with Jainism.
I can honestly say that I don't know exactly what the Jain faith was supposed to teach me. What I can tell you is that the ideals of Jainism, combined with my experiences afforded me the competence to write my own doctrine, my own dogma. This is what I live by. It is not my place to tell you what you should do with your life as you grow old but Jainism made me a better person. It taught me how to make educated decisions, resist passing judgement, and create a life worth living. Let it come through the door with you as you enter that room of immense possibilities and you will discover who you are and what you need to live the life that will make you happy.
"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without." - Buddha
"He who harms animals has not understood or renounced deeds of sin... Those whose minds are at peace and who are free from passions do not desire to live at the expense of others." -Acharanga Sutra
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For Private & Personal Use Only
Quotations collected by Nishant Shah. (Pathshala Student)
www.jainelibrary.org
