Jaina Acara Siddhanta aur Svarupa

Author(s): Devendramuni
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 92

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Jaina Acāra : Siddhānta aura Swarūpa
religions. In one hand they have the Quran and in the other a sword. There are fierce caste conflicts too. A householder should free himself from wrong insistence.
The twenty-first quality is love for goodness. There is no rose without thorns. Even the best man may have some weaknesses. There are people who easily fall prey to criminal and sinful acts like a fly which would leave sweets to rest on garbage. My preceptor advises all to emulate goodness, even if your foe possesses it. Your duty is to overpraise the smallest virtue in others. This will sanctify you.
The twenty-second quality is to act in consonance with time and space. A votary must not vociferously oppose social norms without reason. The established norms, if right, should be supported rather than questioned. What is good and viable in traditions should be accepted and what is bad must be rejected outright; licentiousness should never be tolerated.
The twenty-third quality is to act according to one's capacity. No work should be undertaken without interest and ability to see it through. Well begun half done and ill begun undone. No work should be started without considering its implications and ramifications. If you do it for a year and then give it up you spoil your work and incur infamy.
The twenty-fourth quality is that lay votaries must serve those who are leamed and those who have been strict observers of vows. In ancient times even emperors bowed at the feet of sages, but today people care more for wealth and prosperity. To stick to vows is no child's play, but those who do it deserve respect. This will strangthen your feeling of renunciation. Moreover it generates feeling-producing karma which causes pleasure. This ensures pleasure also in the next world. All depends on your attitude. Without faith no mere formality shall do any good. When the faith is firm, the accumulated karma shall be exterminated. An aged monk, too deserves respect. But it is not age which makes you wise. A freshly initiated monk may excel many others in knowledge and understanding. To acquire knowledge from whatever source needs humility on your part.
The twenty-fifthe quality is not to shirk responsibility. It is householders alone who support ascetics and others. A tree shelters many birds and so does the householder. Just as a person swimming in the ocean and struggling for life is delighted to see an island, so also distressed and destitute people can look up to the householders for shelter and help. The life of a householder is very hard because it involves many responsibilities but in the performance of his duties, he finds an inaffable solace. He makes progress for himself and gives others opportunity to devlop themselves side by side.
The twenty-sixth quality is farsightedness. Lay votaries are intelligent enough to probe deep into buring problems of the day. Evils they try to nip in the bud lest they should take a formidable shape. He does only such things as are beneficial to society and country as a whole. Their