Jain Sahitya Samaroha Guchha 1

Author(s): Ramanlal C Shah, Kantilal D Kora, Pannalal R Shah, Gulab Dedhiya
Publisher: Mahavir Jain Vidyalay

Page 408

The Concept of Jain Penology
389
ons of vows is not a criminal cut a penitent monk, who has dedicated his entire life, wealth and fortune for the upliftment of his soul and of others.
Jain-penology thus enunciated as the strategy in the fight against Karma is not the whole but only a part of the Jain hilosophy; nonetheless, in order to comprehend this part, it would be advisable to study the whole of Jain Philosophy to dispel any doubt or confusion
In the definition of Jain-penology, the concept of punishment has been entirely eliminated and that too not without a purpose. In total defiance, however, of the new trends and developments in penology, some Islamic States like Pakistan and Iran have, in a bid to curb crime with relentless hand, retraced their steps fifteen centuries behind and have, in this process of reversal, introduced cruel and harsh forms of punishments as laid down in Koran. On the other hand, the comparatively rich American and European countries are engaged in experimenting at enormous cost the treatment therapy with the help of highly paid social workers, probationofficers, psychiatrists, judges, magistrates, prisonofficials, statisticians, field-workers and others with no certainty of better results either. Jain Philosophy does not prescribe punishment or infliction of pain in any form on any individual for any crime or misdeed. True religious philosophy with its never dying hope in the transformation of heart and its firm conviction in the essential purity of soul can