Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 4

Author(s): R P Poddar
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Page 52

Yoga and Society : The Jain View
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Thus the way of life preached by the Jinas' may be accptable to the modern scientist, the sociologist and the philosopber.
It is not possible to go into deep in the philosophy of Jaina Yoga and to give the details that Jaina thinkers prescribe for a member of the Society, still I would like to say that Jainism gives every importance to the development of Socity and individual because the Society is nothing more but a group of individuals living together for common interest. Umāswami has well said, Parsparo pagraho Jivānām'-all living being help each other thrive.
All the texts on Yoga mainly discuss the problem of an ideal human personality. Of course all the Jaina thinkers agree that the perfect development of human personality is mokşa but at the same time they also agree to say that one can in no case attain moksa without first developing an ideal human personality.
One may or may not be interested in attaining mokṣa because moksa is a highly speculative affair open to no empirical varification but one's developing or not developing an idea! human personality is a matter of our every day experience.
According to Jainism the development of personality of a living being from lowest to the most sublime type of personality is completed in fourteen stages called 'gunasthānas'. A thoroughly unenlightened living being is said to occupy the lowest level of the first 'gunasthāna'. The person just on the eve of attaining mokşa is said to occupy the fourteenth 'gunasthana'.
Jaina thinkers prescribe two-fold way of life for personality development. Personality in the sense of physical, mental and spiritual make,
This way of life is individualistic in practice but pluralistic in results and achievements. The life of a householder in the Society fully deper upon others and the Society is effected in many ways by his activities-organic as well as inorganic. It is why the Jaina thinkers stress upon individual's development.
In the present day socieiy the individual is losing its importance day by day. Every member of the Society talks about others and forgets about himself. All problems of the modern Society are due to this attitude. As a result every member of Society is facing many problems.