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Jain Ethics
83
irrespective of any such barriers of sex, age, color, caste, creed, class, status. This makes Jain ethics a very effective one and its objective validity and the sanctity of the high morals, in one way or the other, lead to the acceptance of a divine law giver.
Pt. Dalsukh Malvania has described Jainism "though an ethical system is a religion.”?+! He has listed the reasons for considering Jainism as a religion. Prof. L.M. Joshi in this regard writes that, frankly speaking the word Dharma is much more meaningful and comprehensive than the word 'religion"? "Nevertheless, Dharma whether of the Jains or Buddhas, has inspired a profound conception of supreme holiness,'?43 which, in its essential nature proves to be anything but atheistic. Thus the Jain system of ethics comes out as a religion of holiness which cannot escape thestic color.
Moreover, Jain ethics is nothing but an Acāte-Dharma. Its goal is Samyak-Cāritra or right conduct. The ‘righteousness' of any thought, speech or action, or say, of any conduct is an ethical quality. This righteousness in Jainism is expected to be result-oriented i.e. leading to a spiritual upliftment.
The spiritual upliftment in Jainsim would mean the soul purer than before. It means the soul progressing towards achievements aspired by the religion. Spiritual upliftment is the result which is not possible without the practice of religion its codes and vows. Thus the spiritual upliftment logically leads to a theistic position.
Moreover, we have seen how Jain ethics, not only dependent on but is derived from and is consistent with Jain metaphysics and Jain epistemology whose theistic implication we have already examined in our previous chapters. Jain ethics being quite consistent with the philosophy of Jainism must be consistent with theism.
Here, we should also take note of those theistic elements that peep out from the window of certain Jain Acāra. Pandit Dalsukh Malvnia, in one of his essays on 'The Fundamental doctrine of Jain ethics', 44 discusses some of the original doctrines, in the sense that, 41. Pt. Malvania D., Jain Dharma Cintan (1965) 42. Prof. L. M. Joshi, Facets of Jain Religiousness in Comprative Light,
(1981) p. 40 43. S. A. Reality, p. 298 44. Pt. Dalsukh Malvania, Jain Dharma Cintan (1965) p. 52-66
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