Jain Journal 2003 10

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

Page 32

ETHICAL UTILITARIANISM IN THE LIGHT OF MAHĀVĪIRA'S PHILOSOPHY* Smt. Lata Bothra
A child asks his mother "O mother! Who is the greatest of all? His mother smiles and says - "My son,
hatthisu eravaṇam āhu ṇāe siho migāṇaṁ, salilāṇaṁ gangāl pakkhisu vā garule veņudevo nivvāṇadiņiha ṇāyaputte.
"As the Airāvata is the greatest among elephants, the lion, greatest among all animals and Ganga the purest of all waters; likewise Garuda, the son of Venudeva is the greatest among birds. It is none but the Nataputta, the image of purified entity."
Yes, there are but a few who tread through the paths of penance, of benevolence and universal brotherhood. They have left everything regarding personal attachments and likewise their very existence blooms forth goodwill and fraternity in a global manner. Among all the ascetics who have treaded through the royal roads of penance and Nirvāṇa, the one born in the jñātṛ or Näta clan (Nātaputta) is renowned eternally and he is the greatest of all the greats.
One may ask another pertinent question in this connection. In this age of internet interaction when man is aspirating for its inhabitation in Mars and the globe has already become a village, for what reason should one look at a personality of 2600 years old? Why from the sources of antiquity should one ponder on the lives of these great Tirthankaras ?
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I feel that somewhere we have lost our path as a civilised unit traversing through the countless ages of mankind. Science has increased the speed but has eliminated compassion from one another. As one writer has truly said-Science has given us vega (motion) but has snatched away our avega (emotion). It has violently increased the hunger for lust and power leading to an accumulation of more and more wealth. But while we are moving so fast developing our life style and environment, have we developed ourselves? Are we worthy of utilising the immense resources of this one and only one earth? Has our psyche developed to inherit the heavenly peace, tranquility and subsistence of all that this earth has given us? Today for every bit of our development whether psychological, technical, aesthetic, managerial or political---we are bound to look and watch our way according to the guidelines given to us by the Tirthankaras. The