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THE OPENING SPEECH.
67 cultivated certain aspects of that life which have broadened India's religious outlook. It is not merely that Jainism has aimed at carrying Ahimsa to its logical conclusion undeterred by the practicalities of the world; it is not only that Jainism has attempted to perfect the doctrine of the spiritual conquest of Matter in its doctrine of the Jina, what is unique in Jainism among Indian religions and philosophical systems is that it has sought Emancipation in an upward movement of the Spirit towards the realm of Infinitude and Transcendence, and that it has made Power, Will, Character, in one word Charitra, an integral element of perfection side by side with Knowledge and Faith. And Jainism has sought a harmony of all religions and of all philosophical and dialectical standpoints, in its Sarvadharma and its Anekantavada. At the other end of the scale, in its rock-cut sculptured architecture, Jainism has created a new style, and carried it to a pitch of excellence which places the glories of Mount Abu side by side with the Mausoleum of the Taj among the architectural wonders of the world.
A Welcome Awakening.
But all human things are subject to decay, and your own latterday history has not been exempted from the operation of this universal law. Fortune, however, is depicted as riding on a wheel : every descent leads to an ascent; an Avasarpini period must be followed by an Utsarpini. And to one who has closely watched the signs of the times, it cannot but be evident that a great awakening has come to the Jaina community all over India, You have resolved to bid farewell to all disputes of rival sects which have brought your religious usages and traditions into the purlieu of the Courts of Law. You have resolved no longer to remain a divided house. You have resolved to hark back to the pristine purity of your spiritual doctrine and tenets, and to conform your social organisation to the simple rigour of your faith, and purge it of such of its latter-day accretions as may not be in harmony with the teachings of the Jina. For these high social and religious ends you have resolved to pursue an educational propaganda fitted to create the necessary atmosphere and the necessary instruments. You have sought to vindicate the Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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