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fully paid regard to them and accepted that the opponents' convictions may be valid from a certain standpoint.
HUMANITY AS A TRUE FORM OF RELIGION
First of all we are human being and then anything else i.e. Hindus, Jainas, Buddhists, Christians, Muslimes, Sikkhas and the like. To be a real Human being, it is a pre-condition for being a real Hindu etc. Our prime duty is to be a human in its real sense. This spirit is echoed in one of the earlier Jaina text Uttarādhyayana wherein Lord Mahāvīra has laid down four conditions for a true religious being, viz - 1. humanity 2.true faith 3.control over senses and 4.efforts for self-purification. Thus we see that among these four conditions of a religious being, humanity occupies the first and the foremost position.
In Jainism religion is defined as a true nature of a thing (Vatthu Sahavo Dhammo) and in the light of the above definition it can be said that humanity is the true religion of mankind. For, it is its essential nature. As a human beingif we fail to behave like a human being, we have no right to call ourselves a religious being or even a human being. Bertrand Russell, the eminent philosopher and scientist of our age, suggests “I appeal as a human being to the human beings that remember your humanity and forget the rest. If you can do so the way lies open to a new paradise. If you cannot, nothing lies before you but universal death”. And thus, I want to emphasize that humanity is our first and the foremost religion.
WHAT IS HUMANITY?
The question may be raised what we mean by the term humanity? The simple answer is, humanity is nothing but the presence of self awareness, reasonableness and self-control. These
281 Jainism and its History
