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REFLECTIONS FROM PUNDIT NEHRU
ainism is an integral part of ancient Indian culture. So the perspective observations contained in the following article relate to the present state of the Jain system as well. We should appreciate the relevance of these valuable ideas presented by Pandit Nehru... - D. C. J.
"India must break with much of her past and not allow it to dominate the present. Our lives are encumbered with the dead wood of this past; all that is dead and served its purpose has to go. But that does not mean a break with, or forgetting of, the vital and life-giving in that past. We can for get the ideals that have moved our race, the dreams of the Indian people through the ages, the wisdom of the ancients, the buoyant energy and love of life and nature of our forefathers, their spirit of curiosity and mental adventure, the daring of their thoughts, their splendid achievements in literature, art, culture, their love of truth and beauty and freedom, the basic values that they set up, their understanding of life's mysterious ways, their toleration of other ways that theirs, their capacity to absorb other peoples and their cultural achievements, synthesized them and developed a varied and mixed culture; nor can we forget the myriad experiences which have built up our ancient race and lie embedded in our subconscious minds. We will never forget them or take pride in that noble heritage of ours. If India forgets them she will no longer remain India and much that has made her our joy and pride will cease to be.
It is not this that we have to break with, but the dust and dirt of ages that have covered her up and hidden her inner beauty and significance, the excrescences and abortions that have twisted and petrified her spirit, set it in rigid frames, and stunted her growth. We have cut away these excrescences and remember afresh the core of that ancient wisdom and adapt it to our present circumstances. We have to get out of our traditional ways of thought and living which, for all the good may have done in the past age, and there was
Headquarters News, continued from page 3
Saman Suttam
The project of reprinting the "Saman Suttam" has been completed with the help of the Jain Society of Greater Detroit and many other generous benefactors. As of this printing, the book has reached almost all of the Jain members throughout the United States. However, there are some obstacles to overcome before we can distribute the book in Canada. If there are suggestions as to how to accomplish this please contact Bharat Tolia at 810/6815474.
Bharat Tolia would like to thank the members of the Jain Society of Greater Detroit for helping to defray the cost of sending this volume to every Jain household in the US. It is his hope that it will serve as an inspiration to everyone
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Jain Education International
much good in them, have creased to have significance today. We have to make our own all the achievements of the human race and join up with others in the exciting adventure of Man. More exciting today perhaps that in earlier ages, realizing that this has ceased to be governed by national boundaries or old divisions and is common to the race of man everywhere. We have to revive the passion for truth and beauty and freedom which gives meaning to life, and develop afresh that dynamic outlook and spirit of adventure which distinguish those of our race who, in ages past, built our house on these strong and enduring foundations. Old as we are memories stretch back to the early dawn of human history and endeavor, we have to grow young again, in tune with our present time, with the irrepressible spirit and joy of youth in the present and its faith in the future.
Truth as the ultimate reality, if such there is, must be eternal, imperishable, unchanging. But that infinite, eternal, and unchang ing truth cannot apprehend in its fullness by the finite mind of man, which can only grasp, at most, some small aspect of it limited by time and space, and by the state of development of that mind and the prevailing ideology of the period. As the mind develops and enlarges its scope, as ideologies change and new symbols are used to express the truth, new aspects of it come to light, though the core of it remains the same. And so, truth has ever to be sought, renewed, reshaped and developed so that, as understood by man, it may keep in line with the growth of his thought and the development of human life. Only then does it become a living truth for humanity, supplying the essential need for which it craves, and offering guidance in the present and for the future."...
Excerpts from an article published in the Jain Study Circle - Vol. 16, No. 2, April, 1995, entitled - Religion, Philosophy, and Science - Quotations from Discovery of India by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Special Thanks
JAINA would like to acknowledge the help of 16 year old, Amar Patel for his continued help in keeping our mailing list up to date. Amar is an 11th grader at the Cerritos High School in La Mirada, CA. This is a tedious task and JAINA wants to express deep gratitude for his continued effort.
JAIN DIGEST
For Private & Personal Use Only
Amar Patel
November 1996 www.jainelibrary.org
