Studies in Jainism

Author(s): Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture Culcutta
Publisher: Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture Culcutta

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STUDIES IN JAINISM Again, individual life in ancient times was largely monastic. He owed allegiance to the family and, in peripheral way, to the (village) society. Changes in political authority did not affect him much. When one authority was supplanted by another, it was no bother for him. He paid a portion of his produce as tax, and went on living out his life more or less uninterruptedly. But with the growth of urbanization and complexities of political and economic life a pluralistic society has emerged, each unit of which claims the individual's allegiance and attention.
Today a man is a member of his State, of the trade union or the traders' assembly or the professional group, of consumer forum and so on. He has also interest in the well-functioning of the educational institution where his ward studies, in employment generation as well as in the qualitative improvement and quantitative increase of civic amenities, which are a demand of urbanized life. Big vows, in the changed milieu, cannot but be regarded as anachronistic - they can hardly be observed at present. For example, when gurukula system of imparting instructions does not obtain, when must of necessity the child be sent to school where he must sit for examinations for receiving the stamp of qualifications, how can one avoid associating oneself with the system of public instruction? The incumbency of associativeness imposes on the individual certain obligations, which have been taken note of and listed by the Jaina Ācārya in delineation of his Anuvrata doctrine.
Furthermore, expansion of social life that is witnessed today was not envisaged by the Jaina prophets. They conceived of their religion within the periphery of the land of Bharata; its transcending the border was not envisioned by them. The context has changed phenomenally, making it compulsive for one to think internationally.
This aspect of the changed context has also necessitated change in the volume, composition and direction of the Doctrine of Vows. In one sense, super vows - the mega vows demand to be smaller, if they are to attain universal approbation and acceptance.