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Universal Message of Lord Mahāvīra
violence, utters lies, commits theft, indulges in sex and develops a yearning for unlimited hoardings.” Possessiveness and greed are the main causes, which create tension in the life of an individual and also in the society at large. Hence, an aspirant should limit his possessions and desires to the minimum extent.
Lord Mahāvīra said that the source of happiness and peace lies in the individual himself and not in the outside world. Man should respect all agencies of nature and live in co-existence with them in a harmonious way. Man should limit his possessions to avoid wastage and maintain them carefully to last longer, so that the total stock of things is used by the vast population. This factor makes it all the more necessary to control consumerism. A shift from an economy of acquisition to an economy of needs is a necessity for a country like ours, which is suffering from overpopulation. Science, technology and economics have to orient themselves with ethics, without which the humanity cannot make the larger number of people happy.
Lord Mahāvīra laid great stress on the right attitude, selfdiscipline and carefulness. He said that a man should continuously watch his own behaviour so that it does not result in any injury to any living being. Jaina ethics give great attention to lifepreservation, life-protection and kindness to all forms of life. His teachings of non-violence, restricting the desires and giving away in charity are very much needed to reduced violence, selfishness and degradation of life values.
Need for preserving Life-Values Today life values are degrading. Man has become selfcentred and greedy. The problems faced by humanity are
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