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Jainism: The Cosmic Vision people actively subscribe to non-violence in thought and action that a citizen can obtain freedom of thought and expression in the real sense. Democracy flourishes only where those, who oppose the rulers, are also appropriately heard and not suppressed or oppressed. Acharya Tulsi, a leading figure among Jain monks has prescribed norms through his Anuvrata movement as to the type of persons who should be elected to rule the country. According to these norms, only those who are honest, those whose character is of a high order, who are free of addictions to drugs, who possess high quality of efficiencey, who are secular in their thought and action and are not biased in favour of any caste or creed alone deserve to be voted to power. Only such elected people can find effective solutions to the problems of the people. In the words of Bhagwan Mahavira, only the one who is bold and courageous can protect human rights.
Every citizen must be devoted to his duties as much as to his rights. Article 29(1) of the Declaration of Human rights emphatically states, "Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible."
Women have been accorded equal status in Jain religion. In fact, there were more women in the order of Lord Mahavira than men. The scriptures record many tributes to women of exceptional qualities. The care of women, especially in critical situations, is given higher priority than that of men. Mothers of the Tirthankaras are given special honour through communal worship. Legends abound in which women of high spiritual merit such as Brahmi, Sundari, Mallikumari, and Rajimati have
Human Rights And Jainism come to the aid of men. Women have been recognized for their exceptional contributions in the fields of education, culture and religion.
The devotees of the Jain religion may be small in number and yet they have played a very active and constructive role in times when a section of the humanity faced calamity - natural or human-in various parts of the country, calamities such as droughts, famines, floods, earthquakes etc. The history of the Jains is full of philanthropists like Jagadushah, Khemo Dedrani, Javadshah and Motishah and even today the Jains, who regard non-violence and compassion as their main ideals of life, come forward at a moment, notice to provide relief and succour to the suffering humanity. Otherwise also, they are generous enough to distribute aid to the poor and the starving in both rural and urban areas. Lord Mahavira has said that the one, who does not distribute wealth equitably among people of his clan, does not deserve salvation. He has lauded the one who distributes his wealth to the needy and to the deprived ones. In the Dashuaikalik Agamsutra, Mahavira says that the one who does not voluntarily recognise the share of the needy in his own wealth will not reach salvation in his life. This means that everyone should allow others to partake of or share his or her wealth according to his or her capacity.
Thus Jain philosophy considers non-violence and compassion as the richest qualities of human life. It exhorts its desciples and followers to oppose violence and brutality in every possible way. The Jain religion has always advocated gender equality since its birth. One of its tenets is that the Almightly dwells in the soul of every person and when that is so every individual should strive to adopt spiritualism rather
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