Jain Legend Vol 2

Author(s): Hastimal Maharaj, Shuganchand Jain, P S Surana
Publisher: Hastimal Maharaj Shugan C Jain P S Surana

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He should be a born-intellect, versatile, energetic, assertive and impressive personality, well cultured, pious, abstemious, flawless, honest, and forth right and should belong to a noble family.
Even today, all the rama a congregations of Jainism follow the age-old controlled autocratic administrative set up to run their organisations.
Post Liberation (niry a) administrative features of the congregation
It is an undisputable historical fact that Lord Mah v ra's Dharma congregation has always remained as the most prominent, vast and universally acclaimed one in comparison with other Dharma congregations.
Jain literature is abundant with the description of different congregations existing before and after the nirva of Mah v ra, which were huge in size and well accepted by people. Unfortunately, today barring one or two, all the other congregations have only namesake existence, without even any remnants of the past. On the contrary, the congregation of Mah v ra, which was vast and popular, enjoys the same status even after the nirv a of Mah v ra.
Jain Dharma had encountered much turmoil. Famines of 12-year durations, political upheavals, class rivalries, and conflicts sparked out of religious bigotry etc., occurred in cycles which in due course were cleared-off. The upheavals that rooted out many other Dharma congregations could not root out the Jain congregation. Even in the midst of such calamities and conflicts how was Jain Dharma able to withstand and survive successfully? In-depth probing unearths some strong rationale. The first and foremost reason is that the Dharma was propounded by the omniscient. Hence, the constitution of the congregation was, from all points of view, well organised and well maintained. Discipline, stability of the association, meticulous planning were the unique and stable features of these associations. The second reason for its stability is the great principle of universal brotherhood which was closely connected with the welfare of all living beings. More than anything else, what protected this Dharma congregation from the worst calamities and troubles was the sacrifice, penance and infinite
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