Jain Journal 1968 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 56

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JAIN JOURNAL
The wide gulf between the rich and the poor is dangerous to the society. Aparigraha removes a social headache which has affected the present day man everywhere. The problem of in-equality in the distribution of wealth can best find its solution in the vow of aparigraha.
Asteya (non-stealing):
The ethics of Jaina religion is based on the noble principle of nonstealing or the prohibition of dishonesty in other words, which does not allow any kind of falsehood even in everyday life. Here again we find a similarity between Jainism and Protestantism of the Occident. The Jaina commandment of asteya forbids saying anything false or exaggerated; the Jainas believe in absolute honesty in business life, all deception (māyā) was prohibited, including especially all dishonest gain through smuggling, bribery, and any sort of disreputable financial practice (adadtta-dāna).
All this excluded the sect on the one side from typical Oriental participation in 'political capitalism' (accumulation of capital by officials, tax framers, state purveyers) and, on the other it worked among them and among the Parsees, just as for the Quakers in the Occident in terms of the dictum (of early capitalism) "honesty is the best policy" 10 From the very beginning the Jaina merchant has been well-known for his honesty in trade. In the ancient past they used to export various goods from India to a number of foreign countries. The group of businessmen going outside the country for trade was known as 'sartha'. As a result of the vow of non-stealing they were quite conscious about the quality of goods to be exported to the foreign countries which is an essential pre-requisite to earn credit in a foreign market. Quality control is a very important requirement in an attempt to capture a foreign market and it is still a problem before the export trade in India.
The extent of vow extends further-the hoarding was forbidden in case of essential commodities. It was a moral instrument to check the price spiral at the critical times like war and famine. An economic necessity linked with the moral values tend to have more influence on a common man's mind as well as upon the trader.
Anuvrata based on the great vow of non-stealing can be summarized under the following heads :
1. Not taking anything belonging to others with a view to stealing it.