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THE CALL OF THE TIMES.
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one great void in the corporate life of the community. Apart from the political advantages which could be derived from Government, we are even at a discount in our dealings with the sister communities in the normal life of the country. We are slighted and ignored at every step and reckoned as of no consequence. There is no use overlooking, these hard and cruel facts, which could be supported by numberless examples Of course the principal cause of our degradation is the utter lack of cohesion of Jain Society, i.e., comprising all those one and a quarter million people who call themselves Jains, whether Digambars, Swetambars or Sthanakvasis. To the outer world we present the ridiculous appearance of a house divided among itself. Our mutual jealousies and continual bickerings have brought on a state of disintegration which precludes the possibility of united action. On the contrary our energies and wealth are being squandered over ruinous litigation or in frivolous unproductive pursuits, all this at a time when the community stands in crying need of both for constructive works. It is sad to contemplate that numbers of Jain young men with live patriotic instincts find no healthy scope for their pure impulses. In silent but helpless dismay they continue to witness the process of decay. which can yet be arrested by vigorous action.
The question would naturally arise what action is called for. To this the requisite answer is furnished by the clear call of the times, viz., to organize and to carry on intensive propaganda for the sake of self-preservation. Let us now understand that these two things are absolutely essential for our survival in this age of ceaseless conflict. As matters stand at present we seem to be too much engrossed in our own petty affairs; we are extremely chary of making even small sacrifices for the common good. This careless outlook must change and that quickly. In the alternative we are before long bound to go down irrevocably before the competition of more virile organisms. It is time that we overhauled the whole gamut of our extravagant social and hollow religious practices. We are led too much by thoughts of vainglory and we have practically forsaken the true spirit of religion. The hoards of money which run to waste in holding religious fairs and car festivals, the presentation of gold and silver Bedis and embroidered curtains to temples Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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