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NEW IDEOLOGIES NEW TRADITIONS
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induced him to procure food for personal consumption as well as for attaining status - Physical needs are to be fulfilled by some means or the other It is perfectly permissible to do so Status-symbols and acquisition pertaining thereto have been the canker in the rose in some form or the other all along the recorded history
During Mahavira's era penury was not known But the concept of economic equality was unheard of Poverty was not widespread and fatalism was the dominating philosophy Hence hoarders and moneyed people aroused no hostility
The state also accepted with kindly tolerance hoarding and acquisition individual enterprise was unrestrained in this venture The incident of Mammana will illustrate the points ' The month of Asadh that hails the season of rain withnessed the hovering mass of clouds The night was very dark The wind was stormy The river was gushing up with its upsurging and roaring watery stock Each individual scrambled for a homely shelter in such a relentless night
King Shrenik sat in the balcony of the palace with his queen Chellana The flash of lightning revealed the contours of a scarecrow like individual retrieving the drift-wood from the waves It was a miserable wretch The compassionate queen addressed herself to Shrenik, 'Your empire is marked by too many destitutes Why don't your ministers do something to provide them with relief? You care for the rich, like a river paying tributes to the already swelling ocean None has any sympathy for the penniless'
'There is not a single man in my empire who is destitute Every individual is provided with food, cloth and house to live in It is a baseless allegation that we neglect our people'
'I don't indulge character-assassination rely on my own eyes to detect such penurious beings'
'Pray, substantiate your allegations'
'That which is self-evident needs no proof If somebody be engaged in hard-labour during such an inclement weather
