Jainism and Democracy

Author(s): Indra Chandra Shastri
Publisher: I A S S Jain Conference New Delhi

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JAINISM AND DEMOCRACY'
none can suppress it. The first method is adopted by the true aspirants, who build their self invulnerable. The first indicates the increase of worldly power and the second refers to the inner or spiritual power.
The development of personality is dependent on the development of the above-mentioned three ideals. We can give below a test of the same :
1. How do you feel when confronted with a strange idea or thought which you dislike ? In case you are irritated or intolerant, it means your quest for knowledge has stopped, which does not mean merely the mental accumulation, of a number of facts. But a preparedness always to welcome and assimilate new ideas. Similarly, to be as sympathetic towards the view of an opponent as one's own. He would be equally prepared to accept or reject the view on the basis of their objective validity without any differentiation whether they are his own or those of some one else.
2. How do you feel when you meet an adversary or faced with adverse circumstances ? In case you are purturbed, in such a situation it means that the faculty of power is not properly developed. A person believing in the existence of infinite power within is never depressed or disappointed. He is always hopeful and sure to conquer the adverse situation, created by man, by nature or by any other factor.
3. How do you feel when you are left alone without any company or external recreation ? In case you