Keynote Address of Dr Sagarmal Jain at Calcutta

Author(s): Mahadeolal Saraogi
Publisher: Mahadeolal Saraogi

Page 28

other is offering puja to you; among these two, who is the real follower of yours, Mahavira answered: "First one is the real follower of mine, because he is following my teachings."
Though some or other forms of violence is inevitable in our life, yet on this basis we cannot conclude, that the non-violence is not necessary at all. Just as violence is inevitable for living, non-violence is also inevitable for social living. So far as the existence of human society is concerned, it depends on mutual co-operation, sacrifice of self-interest for the sake of fellow-beings and regards for other's life. If the above-mentioned elements are essential for our social life, how can we say that non-violence is not necessary for human life. Society exists not on violence but on non-violence, not on fulfilment of self-interest but on the sacrifice of self-interest not on claiming for our own rights but on accepting the rights of others as our duty. Thus we can say that the non-violence is an inevitable principle of the existence of human society. At present we are living in an age of nuclear weapons and due to this the existence of human race is in danger. At present it is only the firm faith in the observance of non-violence, which can save the human race. It is mutual credibility and the belief in the equality of human beings which can restore the peace and harmony in human society.
Regard for Other's Ideologies and Faiths
Jainism holds that the reality is complex. It can be looked at and understood from various view-point or angles.
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