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Jaina Philosophy and Religion
indifference or fear. The mental state of indifference or fear in this context is very bad. He who himself does not steal, but allows others to steal incurs the sin of theft.
Employing unfair means in business, owning another man's property by fraudulent tricks, deceiving others by misleading them, driving others into losses after having won their confidence, damaging others' int through cunningness, harassing others unnecessarily and unjustly, distressing the innocent—all these are vicious and sinful acts.
Picking up goods which have been lost or forgotten by their owners, employing thieves to obtain things for oneself, encouraging and prompting others to steal, approving others' acts of stealing, receiving stolen merchandise, using false weights and measures, secretly adulterating commodities or substituting inferior ones for the original, gaining or storing goods without paying taxes, breaking laws formulated by the state for the good of the people, indulging in smuggling, dealing in the prohibited items-all these are acts of theft. Buying goods of much value at a very low price taking advantage of the seller's helplessness or keeping the excess material given by the seller by mistake is also an act of theft. In short, taking anything owned by others, through injustice, dishonesty, fraud and unfair means is an act of theft.
Vices like theft, roguery, dacoity, rascality, etc., come into existence and spread widely as an unwholesome reaction to the undue accumulation of wealth and exploitation of the poor by the industrialists and the rich. So, it is their duty to control their desire for wealth..
Unemployment drives man to stealing. Greed leads him astray and prompts him to do immoral and violent acts of sin. He wrongly thinks that by accumulating wealth and making its display he can attain respectable social status. This is the reason why he becomes ever more greedy and employs all unfair means to accumulate wealth. Indulgence in extravagance and vices like gambling, drinking, etc., leads him to the sinful path of stealing and cheating. Again, he learns stealing and other vices from bad company.
When society achieves moral elevation through the cultivation of good qualities like contentedness in proper limited possession, self-control, simple living and universal brotherhood, then the sins of immorality, theft, roguery and devilry which have spread over the entire society will automatically disappear.
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