________________
Towards World Peace on the Wheels of 'Anekāntavāda...
: 215
They teach us to understand the limitations of our thoughts and hence impart the value of respecting and accommodating others.
The whole is larger than the sum total of all of the particulars. The fact of the limited and partial nature of mortal beliefs and judgments melts away all those hard feelings. One's ego, intolerance and violent attitude evaporates when he or she is able to appreciate and understand the differences in our world. Reality is infinite, complex and multi-faceted. It is in the understanding of this that the beauty of diversity is recognized. Human beings can know only a very small segment of 'that which is'. Hence, all of their( mankind's) creeds and actions have a relative validity. It is the knowledge of this truth that fosters unity and takes us towards integration.
The feeling of brotherhood is encouraged when we realize that an individual or a community is the result of it's own specific environment and, therefore, the differences are natural. It is, in fact, unwise to expect similar views and reactions from people under dissimilar circumstances. To take it further, it is in paying genuine heed to the differences that we rcach mature standpoints. It ( the divergent beliefs as also ways as expressed by others) aids in knowing and taking into consideration that of which we are unaware.
To conclude, we can say that the world is a family. Anekāntvāda and Syādvāda are the eternal guardians of the peace, prosperity and wisdom of the vast stretch of the mother earth. They teach us love. They tell us to respect the complex and infinite nature of the multi-faceted reality. They bless us with the wisdom of understanding the limitations of human senses. It is indeed on the wheels of these that man stands assured of attaining the eternal longing of soul-peace. In the end, I quote the following words from Masami Sayonji, Chairperson of the World Peace Prayer Society:
"Peace on earth can only become a reality when all people rise above national boundaries, politics, religion and