Pushkarmuni Abhinandan Granth

Author(s): Devendramuni, A D Batra, Shreechand Surana
Publisher: Rajasthankesari Adhyatmayogi Upadhyay Shree Pushkar Muni Abhinandan Granth Prakashan Samiti

Page 793

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श्री पुष्करमुनि अभिनन्दन ग्रन्थ : सप्तम खण्ड
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JAINISM : The Most Humanistic Religion
O
Justice T. K. Tukol (Rtd.),
Former Vice-Chancellor,
Bangalore University
Humanism is a philosophical attitude and is a logical development of the pragmatic method of testing knowledge by human values. It makes for toleration and rests upon the growth of human knowledge. Its general effect is to diminish the philosophic importance of dialectical subtleties which appeal only to the few.
Human beings can survive only in society. They depend upon one another for the realization of their wishes. The unfettered pursuit of personal interests would lead to internecine strife, which would completely destroy this possibility. But because they are intelligent enough to realize that unrestrained conduct is destructive of all desirable ends, they accommodate their activities to one another's aims and subject their conduct to rules which take other peoples' welfare into account. If they did not, cooperation would be impossible and the common purpose that mutual dependence or interdependence generates would not be permanent. But this subjection to rule of social relationships and the consequent mutual accomodation of cooperative activities, have as their counter-part, the self-discipline of the individual in his own private life.......
Reason, tempered with mercy and truth, is the foundation of social justice. Most of our contemporary evils have surely been the result of the decline of such reason. That was why Socrates said that "Philosophy is the love of Wisdom." "Good life" said Betrand Russell, "is the life inspired by love and guided by knowledge." It is that which provides justification for man's claim to rational autonomy. The exaltation of freedom is, in fact, one of the major themes of humanists. The humanist exalts the soul of man for its powers of freedom. This freedom can be utilized for creation of a better social order, a better world.
Though humanism started as a movement in philosophical thought and literature in the second half of the 14th century in Italy, it recognised the value of human dignity and the spirit of freedom. It asserted the superiority of the active life of contemplation and of moral philosophy to physics and metaphysics ..... Its interest in defending the value and freedom of man drew it into discussing the traditional problems of God and providence and of the soul and its immortality. It has been used to designate communism, pragmatism, personalism also called spiritualism which affirms man's capacity to contemplate the internal truths or in general, to enter into relationship with transcedent reality..... which affirms that there is no other universe than the human universe, the universe of human subjectivity.