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MEDIEVAL JAINISM : CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
formula “Om Namah Siddham” shows that the Jain teachers of Medieval age had so completely controlled the mass education that the Hindus continued to teach their children this originally Jain formula even after the decline of Jainism. Even now the Jains have rigorously maintained the tradition by giving freely these Chaturvidha Dana, i.e., four types of gifts, in all parts of India. In this manner social welfare activities have been continued to the present day.
Thus the major Jain contributions in the social field like the removal of social inequality of any sort, raising the status of women in society, practice of non-violence or Ahimsa in full measure, observance of principle of toleration in actual life and the deliberate application of humanitarian approach to lessen the miseries of living beings and to undertake consistently the social welfare activities for the benefit of all human beings have become a part of national culture of India.
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