Jain Journal 2007 04

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

Page 26

Sagarmal Jain : The Roleot Religion In Human Unity And World Peach
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accordingly. As the different parts of body have their own position and utility in their organic whole and work for its common good, so is the case with different religions. Their common goal is to resolve the tensions and conflicts and make life on earth peaceful. For this common goal each and every one has to proceed in his own way according to his own position. Every faith, if working for the particular common goal, has equal right to exist and work and should be given equal regard.
According to Siddhasena Divākara (5th century A.D.) the divergent faiths may be charged as false only when they negate the true value of others and claim themselves exclusively true. But if they accept the true value of others also, they attain righteousness. He further says. Every view-point or faith in its own sphere is right, but if all of them arrogate to themselves the whole truth and disregard the views of their rivals, they do not attain right-view, for all the viewpoints are right in their own respective spheres. But if they encroach upon the province of other view points and try to refute them, they are wrong. Rightness
a particular faith or viewpoint depends on the acceptance of rightness of others also. The one who advocates the view of synoptic character of truth never discriminates the different faith as right or wrong and thus, pays all of them equal regard. Today when fundamentalism is posing a serious threat to communal harinony and equilibrium, unity of world religions is not only essential but the only way out to guide the human race and to establish the peace on earth.
We should believe in the unity of world religions, but unity according to them does not imply omnivorous unity in which all lose their entity and identity. They believe in that type of unity where in all the alien faiths will conjoin each other to form an organic whole without losing their own independent existence and work for a common i.e. the welfare of mankind. The only way to remove the religious conflicts and violence from the earth is to develop the tolerant outlook and to establish harınony among various religions.
Blind Faith-the Root of Intolerance : Among the causes that generate fanaticism and intolerance, blind