Jains Through Time

Author(s): Shilapi Sadhvi
Publisher: Veerayatan

Page 57

The Jains through Time
Acharya Kalak Follows the Exception to the Rule The next object of my veneration is Acharya Kalak who responded decisively to a very complex and difficult situation. Jainism is intricately woven with a set of rules and sub-rules. However, when circumstances are unavoidable, exceptions to these rules are always acted upon. As Upadhyaya Shri Amar Muniji has said, “Life's chariot in travelling along the path of spiritual purification will only attain speed if both wheels, one of rule and the other of exception, are equally steady and have equal momentum; only then will the aspirant attain his goal." 21
himsa, I would reply with utter conviction that it was the right thing to do. In the circumstances he had to go beyond the rules and follow the exception. It was as a result of the sharp intellect and broad outlook of the Jain shramans that appropriate solutions were found as and when required and Jainism could face all the ups and downs it encountered. The growth of any religion, whose followers are not able to respond to the needs of the age, will inevitably be stunted. I see that some of today's Jain community hide behind the protection of these rules and are unwilling to take on the new age. The repercussions of this may be that the independent younger generation, used to applying the test of reason to all things, might ridicule the short-sightedness of some of their elders once they find out that the great acharyas of the past never hesitated to move with the times.
Adaptation to the needs of the age and permission to follow the exceptions to the rule is Jainism's hallmark. This is precisely what Acharya Kalak did to free Sadhvi Saraswati from the outrage perpetrated on her by King Gardhabhil when he kidnapped her. Though a Jain sadhu, Kalak chose to fight the unjust king to protect the sadhvi. If someone were to ask me whether this was consistent with his vow of ahimsa, with his promise never to commit the smallest act of
Sociologists say that the younger generation today is more intelligent and better educated than previous generations. If so, the question they will ask is: "Is life made for rules, or are rules made for life?" I pray
Panna Samikkhaye Duniani, Upadhyaya Shri Anar Muni, p.228