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himself,suggested that the birth centenary of Jesus Christ should be celebrated because Jesus Christ has taught us about the wellbeing of the whole mankind by advising us that we should have love and sympathy for all the men in the world. But a Hindu scholar suggested that if the birth centenary is to be celebrated on the basis of who has thought about the welfare of the greatest number, then it is Lord Krishna whose birth centenary should be celebrated;for Lord Krishna has not only taught us to be kind to men but also to animals such as the cow and others and have love, in equal measure, for them. At this Mr. Rushabhdasji Jain got up from his sit and suggested that if the criterion for celebrating the birth centenary of someone is to select a personality who has thought about the well being of the most number of creatures, then, we should select Lord Mahavir for this because he has taught us love and kindness not only for men, animals, birds and insects which are sentient beings but also for trees and vegetables which have only one sense and which are also living beings.
From this we realize the importance of the special gift that Jainism has given to mankind. And with this background information, it will be easier for us to follow the nature and the character of the special gift that the Jainist faith has given to mankind.
It is well-known that compassion, love and non-violence are beneficial to the creatures. The western religions have confined the field of these virtues only upto the human beings, whereas the Indian religions have held that the field of the above
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