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The Value and Heritage of Jain Religion for others to earn. Dig-vrata and Desha-vrata, limiting one's activities within certain prescribed sectors and within certain boundaries in a country also contribute in a way to lessen economic conflicts. It is expected of every well-to-do person to give Abhay dan (The gift of fearlessness) to all those who are worried with the problem of food, shelter and clothing.
Ahimsa together with Aparigraha constitutes the ethical wholeness of self-control or self-restraint in social relationship; self-control is also the basis of higher spiritual life. It is happiness (Shreya) rather than pleasure (Preya) which is the goal of life. Thus self-purification (Atma-shuddhi) and not the acquisition of earthly or heavenly pleasures is the aim of life. The obstacles in the form of delusion, ignorance and craving must be rooted out by practising the different vows (Vratas) throughout life, hence, the importance of a realised soul rather than of some mysterious agency is emphasised.
Jain ethics are directed towards the liberation of the individual. Its orientation is therefore religious. Its end is the spiritualization of all areas of life in order to prepare individuals for the achievement of his ultimate goal. Its primary precept applicable to king and commoner alike is: Do your duty and do it in as a humane spirit, as you can.
Jainism permits no distinction between religion (Dharma) and morality because both are concerned with the well-being of an individual in the world. The practice of Dharma enables them to achieve this end. In the words of the well-known Acharya Samantabhadra, “Religion is something which takes the living beings out of the worldly misery and establishes them in the highest bliss." This interconnection between religion and morality imparts to Jainism its distinctive feature.
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