________________
CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
19
them, and even makes sacrifices so that they may be happy and comfortable.
If the object of life is determined, we can deal with the laws. First of all we know that life is eternal; second, we know that our object is progress and the achievement of happiness. The question arises : what is happiness ? The solution of this question depends on the idea of life. If life means only the organisation of the body, the health of the body in this life, then the object of that life would be to keep the body in a healthy condition, and to use all possible means for that purpose. But we know that there are other parts equally necessary with the physical organism to the life of a human being, and that the laws connected with all these faculties are real laws and those which advance happiness, but those which advance happiness of only one faculty cannot be the right laws. If the object of life is merely happiness for the time being we can derive such happiness from the use of intoxicating liquors; but all people agree that there is no real happiness in this. Sometimes happiness is defined as the greatest good of the greatest number, and there the question comes in : What is the good after all ? Most of the professors of political economy think that happiness consists in material prosperity of the people, and a famous English philosopher says that a country may be very progressive, but if there is no philosophy there, if the people do not think on higher subjects than material and physica! welfare, then though its granaries may be full, although there may be hundreds of millions of dollars, pounds or rupees among the people, if philosophy is not there it is a sign of the beast. He says that because only one side of the human nature is advanced, this must be so, but if all sides are taken into consideration and simultaneous progress is made on all, there is real advancement. For this purpose we must progress in the physical, mental and moral nature, and in the spiritual. There are so many different natures of the human being, and when we wish to progress on all these different planes we must consider that there are other living beings besides ourselves,
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
