Pushkarmuni Abhinandan Granth

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

Page 798

Jainism : The Most Humanistic Religion
living being is to get over these mental and physical infirmities so that the soul can regain its supreme status of the Siddha (or liberated and perfect being).
Jainism expects each individual in society to live in a pious way and at the same time, if possible, to exert for the annihilation of the Karmas by following the spiritual path. One common charge made against this religion is that it only preaches the path of renunciation and says nothing about the life on earth. This criticism is far from the truth. Jainism lays so much emphasis on the importance of human life that even the gods and goddesses must return back or be born again, after the exhaustion of the meritorious Karmas, as human beings in order to work for their salvation or liberation from the bondages of Karmas.
Jaina Ethics The Code of Conduct prescribed for a householder is less rigorous than the one prescribed for a monk or a nun. Every person must live in such a way that the spiritual goal of his life should not be lost sight of. He must grow in wisdom and virtue. As he progresses in Jife, he must become more humane and capable of sympathetic understanding. We all live by faith; and the health of every society depends upon the moral values that the individuals practise in daily life. Jainism preaches a universal spirit of humanism and harmony among all living beings. Acarya Samantabhadra who lived in the latter half of the second century A. D. preached the doctrine of Sarvodaya in the following words in his work called the Yuktyanushasana:
Sarvapadamantakaram nirantam, sarvodayam tirthamidam tavaiva.
(Verse 61) The all-round advancement of all beings by warding off all their difficulties is Sarvodaya as preached by Bhagavan Mahavir. It cannot be denied that we are bound by sympathy with countless souls and that our happiness depends upon the smiles and well-being of others. That is why the principle of Sarvodaya was preached as a code of conduct for daily practice.
There is another principle of mutual self-help that is advocated by another Jaina Acarya by name Umaswami by about the same time. He said in his work Tattvarthasutra : Parasparopagraho Jivanam 12
(Chapter V, sutra 21) To help each other mutually in their work is the good turn that one ought to do towards another. This is how we can be useful to one another. We can help others by good and timely advice and guidance. In fact, our life depends upon the work of numerous people known and unknown to us. The services that others render to us to make our life happy and worth living cannot be counted and ascertained ; that is the secret of social existence. It is therefore the duty of every one of us to help others in whatever manner we can. The number of persons who work for others in society is inconceivably large and no ethic which does not provide for social obligations towards their well-being can be perfect or humane.
Pancha Anu vrata or the Five Small Vows It is with a view to achieve the twin objectives of sarvodaya and mutual help that the five rules of conduct have been prescribed by the Jaina religion. These five vows are : Ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), Achaurya (non-stealing), brahmachayra (celibacy) and (non-possessiveness). In fact, Ahimsa is the basis on which all these principles or rules of conduct aparigraha are founded.
The goal of ethics is maintenance of moral values of brotherhood, justice and peace, Devotion to ethical ideals is the hall-mark of all modern civilizations. Jaina ethics is the most glorious part of Jainism and it is simplicity itself. That is why some authors have described Jainism as ethical realism. There is no conflict between man's duty to himself and to his society. The highest good of the society is the highest good of the individual. The soul has to be evolved