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36: śramana, Vol 64, No. III, July-Sept. 2013
occasions, to a process of renewal and change. In the event of the human, who does have a higher intensity of feeling, they feel the feelings of the world around them and are aware that their own actions are the cause of much of the infractions and violence that is present in the world.36 The lure to action is primarily found in the realization that humans do have greater agency than others, although the ability to act based on emotion, feeling, sympathy, etc., is realized only in humanity, but has been evidenced in other beings as well. Relationality maintains the connection of the individual within the web of the world around them, in one sense making them the center and in another, decentralizing them, specifically because of the feelings being felt of the other as found in perception.
Conclusion: Diaspora Jains and more so second generation diaspora Jains, are in a state of flux, a liminal space from which to emerge a more solidified yet, constructing definition of who they are. They hold to the three vows of Jainism, that of ahiṁsā, aparigraha, and anekāntavāda; however, they have moved away from the ascetic lifestyle and with it a religious and philo- sophical system that holds the vows together. For orthodox Jainism, the vows are a reflection of the metaphysical system espoused in their scriptural texts and their religious system is the practices to achieve the highest goal, that of mokṣa. What is the diaspora Jain to do?
What diaspora Jains require is a constructive metaphysics, open to revision, in order to better equip their world view that they are experiencing at every moment. The constructive metaphysics does not seek generalities through supernatural or other worldly means, but rather through the direct observation of experience and then move to its application in other fields. In other words, metaphysics is derived, not revealed and yet it is always around us, never ending.
The constructive metaphysics, precisely because it is constructive, requires creativity, the process in which novelty is introduced, a flat ontology, which although leads one to higher grades of intensity does not lead to anything more real than the actual occasion as ultimate fact and relationality, the realization that to each occasion, event, is entirely interdependent and mutually independent with one another. This creates a web of connections that creates a value system that is both individually as well as socially engaging, creating new ways of handling issues when brought into different concepts, not by relying on tradition but rather by using tradition as a point of reference for a new way of looking at the world around them, in which to handle that event. Whitehead's constructive metaphysics thus provides a dynamic process to experience, define and refine the diaspora Jain philosophy as well as religion, developing a way of life that espouses the three views of ahiṁsā, aparigraha, and anekāntavāda and yet does not directly need the traditional forms to come to a right knowledge, faith and conduct.
References: 1. Prakash C. Jain, Jains in India and Abroad: A Sociologial Introduction, New Delhi:
International School for Jain Studies, 2011, p8, 88-103. 2. Alfred North Whitehead, Religion in the Making, with an introduction by Judith A. Jones,
