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amusement of everybody.
A trivial quarrel, no doubt, and perhaps a trivial incident to be related here. But I ask you, have not men of different religions argued with the same triviality, the same intolerance and the same vehemence, over the centuries? Each has the conviction that what he was told by someone who could see clearly must be true. One cannot blame him for his absolute faith in his mentor, but surely there was room for others to be true? And what is the result of this dogmatism? Chaos and conflict, discord and disillusion. You will all share my feelings when I say with the poet:
And much it grieves my heart to think
What man has made of man.
Jainism is not a sect or just one more conflicting ideology-it is a way of thinking and living.
The greatness of Jain philosophy lies in the fact that its teachings work for "the greatest happiness of the greatest number," not only of men, but of all living beings, under all circumstances.
Its philosophy is not essentially founded on any particular writing or external revelation, but on the unfoldment of spiritual consciousness, which is the birthright of every soul. Mere words cannot give full expression to the truths of Jainism which must be felt and realised within.
The Jains are the advocates of the development of man in all aspects: physical, mental and spiritual. Through knowledge and endeavour the individual develops and unfolds the potential within him.
The word Jain is derived from the generic term
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