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70: śramana, Vol 64, No. III, July-Sept. 2013 common folk. The Quakers called for Christians to adopt a plain and modest style in both clothing and conversation.” (Stein 2000: 43) When portraying the way of living of the Jains and the Quakers, we nevertheless should remember that the life style has generally been changing quickly these days: "Cheating, bribing, smuggling, tax evasion, amassing wealth, by fair or foul means are as common with Jains as with others." (Bothara 2009: 7) Something similar can be probably said about Quakers: "With a few exceptions, contemporary Friends live much like their evangelical or mainstream neighbors, depending on the branch of the tradition with which they identify. The most distinctive feature of liberal Quakers is their commitment to peace-making, which manifests itself not in language or dress but rather in social involvements.” (Williams 2002: 136)
Puritanical rational thought, a simple way of life, the feeling of personal responsibility and highly moral conduct contributed undoubtedly to the fact that both communities reached outstanding social status based on relative wealth28 and a high level of literacy and education.29 They have also contributed widely to the culture.30 The status of Jains in the Indian society was historically good as they often enjoyed royal patronage and were able to somehow influence the public events (Jain, Jyoti Prasad 2010:26-37). They succeeded in retaining this (to some extent privileged) status even in turmoil of industrial revolution and beyond: "A very high degree of individualism, dual value system, Protestant ethic-like elements present in the Jain religion, a high level of urbanization and literacy and progressive occupational specialization over the centuries as traders, money-lenders, bankers etc. all tended to add to the prosperity and relative modernization of the Jain community." (Jain, Prakash 2012: 143) Max Weber was then probably right when he maintained that there is a positive relationship between Jainism and economic motivation which is otherwise quite foreign in Hinduism." (Jain, Prakash 2011: 122) Puritanical ethic was decisive for good social status of (at least early) Quakers, too. They achieved it mainly by means of business, "the main avenue of worldly endeavor" (Williams 2002: 132) for them. In business, "their reputation for complete reliability, together with a strenuous work ethic and a disciplined, frugal lifestyle, resulted in considerable financial success." (Ibid.) It is not so surprising, then, that three out of four of the banks coming into existence in England in the late 17h and the 18th century were of Quaker origin, including Barclay's and Lloyds banks.
Good social standing has enabled both Jains and Quakers to carry out rather "subtle influence" (Rankin 2007: 208) in societies that surround them than exercise direct political power. Saying this I do not deny the fact that the Jain community has produced a large number of monarchs, ministers and generals in its long history. But "during the last four decades” the role of Jains in public life "has significantly dwindled.” (Jain, Prakash 2011: 20) The strongest influence of Jains to the Indian society in the last century was indirect. It was performed by the political deployment of ahimsā by Mahatma Gandhi, who was especially in his young age in close contact with Jains. Anyway, the “subtle influence” of Jains remains and is visible thanks to a large variety of social activities.
