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THE CULTURE
Chapter 6.1
JAIN VALUES AND THE MODERN WORLD
R
ecent centuries have witnessed revolutionary changes in many areas of human life. Standards of living, life expectancies, communications, social, economic and political values, science and technology have all undergone rapid change. The only thing that can be said with any certainty today is that the pace of such change is likely to accelerate.
The value systems of the past, whether ideological or religious, have been unable to retain the force they once had. In Western countries, identification with historic religious institutions, churches and synagogues has declined radically in the twentieth century. However, there is no evidence that the need of humankind for some form of spiritual expression has declined, but it is less clear where they can turn to find it.
Since the eighteenth century, and the advent of what has been termed 'The Enlightenment', there have been those who saw in technical and scientific advances, and in more open political forms, an opportunity for humanity to enjoy greater happiness. In Western nations, this was interpreted in the nineteenth century as the fruits of 'progress', but one need only look to the history of Europe in the twentieth century to see how cruelly betrayed we have been by these ideas. The worst wars, the greatest suffering, famines, poverty, exploitation of people, animals and the environment have occurred in the lifetimes of people alive today - they still continue.
Neither the political or economic systems, such as communism, socialism or capitalism, nor technological changes have stopped this exploitation, or the feelings of alienation, unhappiness and anxiety that accompany them.
No one could argue that these human problems did not exist in the past, but the difference today is that we are now more aware that humanity is capable, should it fail to show restraint, of destroying the whole world. We possess the weapons, nuclear, chemical and biological, to wipe out all life on Earth, and the environmental damage we inflict is capable of disrupting the entire world biosphere, poisoning the air, water and food upon which we all depend. This danger is the price we seem to be paying for 'progress'.
One common feeling expressed by people today is that of helplessness. The expression a small cog in a big machine' is often used to sum up how we feel about ourselves. Low self-esteem and a sense of being undervalued create stress, depression and psychosomatic illnesses, which are on the increase in modern societies.
Whatever one feels, it remains true that all individuals have an effect, however slight, on others around them in the complex networks of modern society. If we act, we influence; if we do not act, we influence; if we speak, we influence; if we do not speak, we influence; if we interfere, we influence and if we ignore, show apathy or tolerance, we influence.
The challenge presented to us is to try to identify the ideas and values, which will show us a way to deal effectively with the problems thrown up by modern living. To begin with, let us dispose of the myth that people today are in a situation of moral decline. The majority of people does recognise moral values and want to live by them.
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