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Jaina Philosophy and Religion
(3)
Each and every member of the society should be free to strive for the attainment of the material, mental and spiritual good. But at the same time, he should accept the restrictions imposed by the rules of social ethics and justice. The observance of those social customs and conventions that are in consonance with and conducive to justice and morality is necessary for the stability and order of the society. There are other customs which are positively harmful to the society; they are the product of ignorance; they are destitute of discretion; they might have been relevant in the days of their origination, but are now irrelevant and pernicious; their removal surely causes increase in the happiness of the members of the society or causes decrease in their misery. If the society sticks to such harmful customs out of ignorance or obstinacy, its members will have to suffer miseries. To tell the sufferers that their miseries are not due to bad customs but due to their past karma and they should, therefore, bear them meekly is like giving opium to a person to deprive him of his consciousness. Here the fault lies directly and perceptibly with harmful customs or superstitions. Miseries found as resulting from harmful customs are no doubt due to them, just as pain seen or experienced as resulting from piercing of the heel by a thorn is no doubt due to the thorn. And it is those who spread and nourish harmful customs that should be held responsible for the miseries. Those who suffer miseries ought to oppose the harmful customs with properly organised agitation and thereby should eradicate the miserable and degenerating environment of harmful customs and superstitions. This will certainly destroy the dreadful power of the weapon of harmful customs and superstitions-the weapon wielded by the past karma. What applies to harmful customs and superstitions applies also to capitalism that exploits the poor and to imperialism that makes weak nations slave and sucks their blood.
(4)
Behind any event taking place in the life of a mundane soul, there is certainly the force of its past karma. Thus, when a physical (natural), bodily or financial calamity befalls a person, that force is indubitably working behind it. In spite of this fact, if a person intentionally invites the calamity, he cannot escape from the crime of inviting it. The worldly laws may or may not punish him for this crime, but the Law of Nature (karma) will certainly punish him.
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