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Aspects of Jainology Volume VI
religion and every culture has full right to exist, with all its peculiarities, but at the same time, it is its pious duty to work for the welfare of the whole humanity and be prepared to sacrifice its own interest in the larger interest of the humanity. In the Jaina text Sthânăngasūtra we have the mention of Grāmadharma, Nagaradharma, Rāştraharma etc. referring to one's duty towards one's village, city and nation that has to be fulfilled.
Jainas, it is a means for welfare of human society and not for one's own enjoyment. The accumulation of wealth in itself is not an evil but it is the attachment towards its hording and lust for its enjoyment which makes it an evil. If we want to save the humanity from class-conflicts, we will have to accept self-imposed limitation on our possessions and modes of consumption. That is why Lord Mahāvira has propounded the vow of complete nonpossession for monks and nuns and vow of limitation of possession for laities. Secondly, to have a check on our luxurious life and modes of consumption he prescribed the vow of limitation in consumption. The property and wealth should be used for the welfare of humanity and to serve the needy, so he prescribed the vow of charity. In Jainism the vow of charity is named as Atithi samvibhāga. It shows that charity is not an obligation towards the monks and weaker sections of society but through charity we give them what is their right. In Jainism it is the pious duty of a house-holder to fix a limit to his possessions as well as for his consumption and to use his extra money for the service of mankind. It is through the observation of these vows that we can restore peace and harmony in human society and eradicate economic inequality and class conflicts.
Problem of Economic inequality and Consumer Culture
Economic inequality and vast differences in the mode of consumption are the two curses of our age. These disturb our social harmony and cause class-conflicts and wars. Among the causes of economic inequality, the will for possession, occupation or hoarding are the prime. Accumulation of wealth on the one side and the lust, for worldly enjoyment on the other, are jointly responsible for the emergence of present-day materialistic consumer culture. A tremendous advancement of the means of worldly enjoyment and the amenities of life has made us crazy for them. Even at the cost of health and wealth we are madly chasing them. The vast differences in material possession as well as in the modes of consumption have divided the human race into two categories of 'Haves' and 'Have nots' At the dawn of human history also, undoubtedly, these classes were existent but never before the vices of jealousy and hatred were as alarming as these are today. In the past, generally these classes were co-operative to eace other while at present they are in conflicting mood. Not only disproportionate distribution of wealth, but luxurious life led by affluent people these days, is the main cause for jealousy and hatred in the hearts of the poor.
Though wealth plays an important role in our life and considered as one of the four puruşārthas i.e. the pursuits of life yet if cannot be maintained as the sole end of life. Jainas, all the time, consider wealth as a means to lead a life and not a destination, Uttaradhyayanasūtra rightly observed, "that no one who is unaware of treasure of one's own protect one-self by walth". But it does not mean that Jaina ācāryas do not realise the importance of wealth in life. Acārya Amrtacandra maintains that the property or wealth commits violence. Jainas accept the utility of wealth; the only thing they want to say that wealth is always a means and it should not be considered as an end. Not doubt wealth is considered as a means by materialist and spiritualist as well, the only difference is that for materialist it is a means to lead a luxurious life while for spiritualist, as well as
Problem of Conflicts in Ideologies and Faiths
Jainism holds that reality is complex. It can be looked at and understood from various view-points or angles. For example, we can have hundreds of photographs of tree from different angles. Though all of them give a true picture of form a certain angle yet they differ from each other. Not only his but neither each of them, nor the whole of them can give us a complete picture of that tree. They individually as well as joinly will give only a partial picture of the tree. So is the case with human knowledge and understanding also, we can have only a partial and relative picture of reality. We can know and describe the reality only from a certain angle or view-point. Though every angle or view-point can claim that it gives a true picture of reality yet it gives only a partial and relative picture of reality. In fact, we cannot challenge its validity or truth-value, but at the same time we must not forget that it is only a partial truth or one-sided view. One who knows only partial truth or has a one-sided picture of reality, has no right to discard the views of his opponents as totally false. We must accept that the views of our opponents also may be true from some other angles. The Jaina theory of
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