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Doctrinal and Social Context of Non-Violent... : 71
Generosity and social activism of Jains may have three main motives. One of the five vows binds Jains to aparigraha, non-possession, or in the case of householders, non-attachment to possessions. This vow prevents Jains from obsession with material goods and helps them to deal with wealth in a less selfish and more altruistic manner. The second motive comes out of one's need of good karma. Charity and involvement in social work are means of accumulating punya (merits) for the sake of future better birth. The third motive is opposite to the former in one sense: it is karunā (compassion) that moves lay Jains to acts of generosity and personal engagement. Jain organizations may therefore be found in the large scope of social work: in education, medical treatment, food supply etc. (Jain, Shugan 2012b: 152-165; (Mehta 2013: 2526) Jain engagement in social activities is sometimes called “social ahimsa” or “social nonviolence". (Sogani 2012a: 74.76; resp. Jain, Shugan 2012c: 192)
On the contrary to Jains, Quakers have always shown a detached relation to worldly power. From the very beginning of their existence, they distanced themselves "from what they regarded as the ungodly ways of secular society”. (Williams 2002: 131) The departure from the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1756 confirmed their relation to the direct political power. As several Quaker families became very rich, indirect but considerable influence on politics remained for some time. Nevertheless, the main domain of Quakers' impact has been the social scene. Besides above mentioned activities, Quakers have become notorious for their long-term struggle for educational and prison reformations and for their participation in a wide variety of humanitarian endeavors. Humanitarian engagement is in the case of Quakers often connected to pacifist and peace-making efforts. Quakers, represented by two organizations of this kind, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947. The listing of similarities of Jainism and Quakerism may go on and include even such details as refusing sacraments, religious ceremonies and devotional articles by all Quakers and by a substantial part of the Jains. But even the majority of the Jain community that do use material entities in their religious life (mūrtipēūjakas) shows a kind of aloofness in respect to the worship of idols, material offerings and to performing ceremonies (dravya-pūjā) (Jaini 1998: 193-194; Jain, Yogendra 2007:149). They consider psychic or mental worship (bhāvā-pūjā) more important. Both communities seem to feel well, that "true worship involved the cultivation of the inner being." (Stein 2000: 42) Moreover, neither Quakers nor Jains have priests (yet Jains have monks) and make no difference between participants during common worship.33
Conclusion Non-violence is what is associated first with both the Jains and the Quakers. It used to be only one of the characteristics of their religious life but it has stepped out of the fabric of doctrines and ethics and has become the most distinctive feature of both traditions in the last decades. (Williams 2002, 136; Rankin 2007: 193, Sogani 2012c: 228 etc.) This development may be surprising especially in the case of Jainism, as "in line with the Indian tendency to view ethics as being contextualized according to caste and situation, Jains are usually content to observe ahimsā as an ethic suitable for themselves, but not expected from everyone else." (Cort 2001: 149) Contemporary Jain authors, however, often put emphasis on the alleged universalism of
