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Jainism: The Cosmic Vision enviornment degradation today, elimination of pollution and digging of wells for storage of water, but the Jain religion dealt with these problems centuries ago. Bhagwan Mahavir gave the message of uniting the whole world are
and it is time for the community to unite and contribute to the creation of a non-violent world before it is too late. Or in the words of novelist Ernest
Hemingway: "For whom the bells toll?" [2] Jain religion is one of the world's ancient religions. It has
its own unique value-system, tenets and tradition. In times of Mahavir Swami, there were several religions and many of them do not exist today. This reflects the resilience of the Jain religion. It has survived through the centuries. We have to recognise its inherent strength and through its medium, we have to organise ourselves into an integrated society. I wonder why this has not happened. Is it because the world is too much with us or
are we indifferent ? [3] The philosophy of Jain religion is so unique that it needs
to be spread far and wide. For instance, it does not believe in conversion or agression. Rather it believes in cooperation, harmony, consensus, service, surrender etc.
This philosophy needs to be resuscitated and a campaign be launched for strengthening its base. Non-violence leads to fearlessness, friendship to humaneness compassion to sensitivity and when we embark upon such a journey, then the jain culture will have its real justification. One is saddend at the thought that if we show apathy, we will have to pay a heavy price and the whole edifice of Jain religion will collapse and we will expose ourselves to
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Jain Diaspora ridicule. The community must remain united in terms of its tenets of non-violence and value-system and its approach to enviornment, life-style and business and commerce. The independence of Jains is not the one akin to India's independence from the British rule; their indepedence is the one which makes one rule for the soul. The society today is afflicted with violence and aggression in which values are trampled upon and universal truths are beings ignored. In such a scenario the Jain religion, with its global vision, can play an important role and contribute significantly to saving the world from imminent disaster and the responsibility rests on the Jains wherever they reside. The future generations will not forgive us if we abdicate our responsibility. The Jain society is progressive and Jainism is, therefore, found in countries outside India. But it is divided in sects, Gaccha etc and the need of the hour is to get united. Let us remember the dictam aferent refer that is in Kaliyug, unity is the real strength. There are forces which are a threat to our unity. There are differences with respect to pilgrim centres, observance of rituals and religious texts. Such differences do exist in other religions too and these external differences often lead to conflicts and dissenssions among the members of the same sect or with other sects, resulting in court cases, or physical violence. What this means is - we are becoming narrow-minded, while in fact, our outlook should be broad and catholic. How can we be narrow-minded when we believe in gua Para ? In the present time, the need of the hour is to adhere to our basic principles, develop a cosmic vision
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