________________
This was immediately picked up by R, and actually in the direction of the thesis itself, namely from religion to practice, and not vice versa, or as R said:
"My whole thesis was initially about Jainism, and I gradually melted down to how we are. Because, whenever I explain Jainism, I make clear that it is not merely a religion of course, but a way of life, or something that cannot be separated from how you live. The thing that is left separate is that you do not follow that way of life. It somehow came to a point where I could see how I should live daily life and run my business by encountering the Jain principles that are so much in front of us. That is how it started with me, thus a main focus on Jainism, and try to elaborate the teaching of Jainism first. A book or thesis like that has not been written yet. There are books on true faith in Jainism or on Samkit, but these are written by Gurus. But putting all texts together, from Canons to everything else, has not been done yet, at least not to my knowledge. I have a huge library of Jain books, and I constantly collect the ones I know. It has always been my wish to have something that is really 'studied', and is the most useful thing. I just finished the interview on Islam, and there they say that faith and conduct go hand in hand, that is very clear in their mind. If you are not able to act in line with faith, you are not faithful, period. That is what they have in their books, the Koran and Hadith. Jainism is not exactly like that, faith is one thing and action the other, but they are both coming from a reason called Karma. I can be faithful, but physically or mentally not strong enough to perform those actions. But that does not mean that I am not agreeing with what is there. It's like understanding the study, but not being able to remember it. That does not mean I do not understand. So action and faith are divided in Jainism, very clearly. So, you cannot, based on someone's action, say that he is faithful or not. So, that is how I began, religion and then try to bring it in action".
"Is there a particular reason", T replied "why you left any reference to Jainism out in the official presentation of your company? You could say, for example, that Jainism is not just a religion but also an ethnicity or a culture. However, there is no reference to this at all in your public relations material of your company".
"No, there is no particular reason", R replied "other than keep the religious aspects of Jainism, in which there may be two ways of life. Either, you go one way, in which there are, say 90% religious principles but only 10% in real action, or the other way, a very ascetic way, in which I would have taken Diksha [initiation], and would have become a monk. But then I would not be sitting here, and that proves of course that my physical and mental strength is not the one I need for that direction".
"But is that your norm or an ideal?",T asks, on which R firmly replies "No, even though it is the best possible route for the upheaval of the soul, I definitely do not have the strength or character to follow that path. It is full of difficulties".
"But what about laypeople, who also have a right to existence? Is there not an ascetic way for those people as well, say a householder way of life? Maybe such a way of life could be completely natural, and perhaps it offers its own opportunities, and has its own merits?"
361
