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Śramaņa, Vol. 59, No. 3 July-September 2008
The role of Jainism in Evolving a Global Ethics
Dr. Sohan Raj Tater*
New model for moral and spiritual progress
Jainism has got full ability to become a new model of Global ethics for moral and spiritual progress. The term 'moral' closely. associated with ethics, comes from the Letin word 'mores' which primarily stands for 'custom' and 'habit' and secondarily means character.' The person who leads highly moral life is appreciated in his family, society, state and even in his country. He feels himself fully contented and happy. Moral values fulfill motto of individual's life. High moral fellow gets higher position in collective life. Modern scholars have also emphasized the supra-moral nature of the ethical teachings of the Upanişads. Dr Radhakrishnan, while discussing the ethics of Upanişads, remarked, "Duty is a means to the end of the highest perfection. Nothing can be satisfying short of this highest condition. Morality is valuable only as leading to it."2 Custom and habits of individual can only be changed by purifying internal emotions. Positive emotions give rise to positive thoughts which reflect good habit and custom of individual. Deussen has also very clearly pointed out this. He observes that when, "the knowledge of Atmā has been gained, even action and, therefore, every moral action also has been deprived of meaning."? In the light of becoming a new model of global ethics for moral and spiritual progress Jainism says, "It is only after the acquisition of Samyaktva (spiritual conversion) that the soul attains the primary qualification for even marching towards emancipation from the wheel of misery. If mithyätva is the root of samsāra, samyaktva is the root of mokşa. Ethics does not * Adviser, Jain Vishva Bharati University, Ladnun-341306 (Raj.)
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