YJA Convention 1996 07 San Francisco CA Second

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

Page 45

4. All human beings are born equal and should be treated equally
There is so much discrimination in modern society e.g. rich against poor; educated against illiterate; white against black; Gandhiji felt very strongly about this and practiced it by calling untouchable 'harijans' - children of god - and lived alongside them, we can make a special effort to befriend the unlucky through e.g. helping antiapartheid; making special effort to help any people who we know are being discriminated against.
5. Self-praise and ego cannot bring happiness and should be suppressed
Gandhiji says in the foreword to his autobiography: 'If anything that I write in these pages strike the reader as being touched with pride, then he must take it and there is something wrong with my quest and that my glimpses are no more than mirage. Let hundreds like me perish, but let truth prevail. Let us not reduce the standard of truth by even a hairs breadth for judging erring mortals like myself.' We can work at reducing our ego by practicing humility e.g. no boasting or self-praise for one week.
Questionnaire
1. Do you agree with the statements about truth made above? 2. What were your experiences from pursuing the above principles? 3. In what other practical ways can one put Satya into practice? 4. What is your overall conclusion on the principle of Satya?
Results of experiment
Most participants felt that the above statements were not necessarily true in all circumstances e.g. money is important in life; competition can be healthy at times; selfpride is important for an individual's confidence; etc. However everyone agreed unanimously on truth of No. 4.
1. A vow not to take advantage or argue with anyone for a week revealed an inner
awareness of the power of tolerance and understanding. It provoked a feeling of love and peace in an individual and made one less stubborn.
2. A donation to charity made one aware of our strong attachment to money. For
example, before taking a decision, there is a strong temptation to look for excuses - will the money reach the desired end? is it a just cause? what if I am short of money in the future? will I regret this decision? etc. The final step of making a donation revealed that we are living in the fear about tomorrow when even in the present, there are people having little to eat; at the same time, it gives an inner sense of satisfaction at helping others and reducing our obsession with money.
3. A member decided to provide help to the elderly one evening and found it very
rewarding. Their smiles were pleasing and genuine. It was felt that cooperationoperation/community work should not be seen as a self-sacrifice but as a sign of joy that one is able to share one's own skills and knowledge with others less fortunate.
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