YJA Convention 2000 07 LA Fourth

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

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In my opinion, most businesses attempt to encourage an ethical and fair practice. However I am more concerned about that smaller part that entices people with its promise of power, fame, money, and success. All of us have heard the term "ethics," but how many of us actually understand it? Moreover how many of us actively make it a part of our decision making? Ethics is a set of principles of right conduct. It transcends the ideas of law and religion because it remains unique for each person. I cannot decide whether a course or action is ethical for you, only you can decide for yourself the ethics of a situation.
Furthermore it is not easy when ethical dilemmas present themselves in a situation in which no clear choice exists. For instance, say your business is losing money and might soon go under. You may save money by dumping your company's refuse in a local landfill instead of properly (and expensively) disposing of it. Trashing the waste in the local landfill is legal, but it can have an astounding environmental impact. What do you do? This example shows just of one of the many ethical dilemmas each one of us will face during our lifetimes, whether it surfaces on a social, personal, or business level. In the last illustration, your goal is to stay profitable but also be conscious of the environment-you have no clear answer.
Thankfully I think that our world is changing for the better. Currently the paradigm for business and thought moves toward one that includes people and the environment on an (almost) equal plane as money. We still remain far from this, but every day brings us a little bit closer. One day ethical decisions will have an immensely critical role in business, because the careful consideration for factors (such as the environment in the last example) will be valued by people and rewarded in business. For instance today many people will not purchase items made in "sweat shops" even if they may be cheaper or better. This clearly shows that ethical decisions can have monetary compensation in addition to the fact that people are being treated as humans and not as a means to a goal. Since we are faced with ethical situations in business everyday, how does Jainism play a part in helping us become successful?
Jainism presents a unique advantage to us, because the fundamentals of Jainism teach how responsibility for a person's own actions is one of the keys to a successful life. All of us want to make the right decisions, but sometimes the sweet allure of earthly gains can be blinding. When an ethical situation offers itself, a person needs to carefully consider all the options. Can a person make money by making what he/she feels is the right decision? The truth is that all ethical decisions will not result in monetary success. Sometimes the need to reach a goal outweighs anything else, but at what cost? The responsibility remains ours to shift the world's thinking to include the right decisions.
However, Jains cannot add to the change until they incorporate ethics into their own goals. If people measure goals only by money, then the path to reach it can often supersede the need to think of what is not only Jain but also what is ethical. On the other hand, if objectives consisted of money and Jain principles, then the decision-making process will take both characteristics into account. If you are not the decision maker, you need to make the decision makers aware of the ethical implications of a situation, because it is up to you to make a difference.
Remember that a vision starts with one person's dream, and whether the dream will develop into reality depends on that
person. At the very least, Jain principles need to be a part of a person's mindset and work, no matter how limited the scope or his/her effect. Trax In Space did not grow because I began with the largest tracker site on the web. It matured after a series of small decisions and small accomplishments, all of which centered on my passion, ethics and Jainism. It can happen, but you must believe it can happen.
In the face of wealth, pride, rank, and success, Jainism can often take a back seat in business. A new world slowly emerges, because people are becoming more aware of the world around them and the profound impacts their decisions have in business, society, the world, and themselves. Reaching a goal involves more than just passion, it needs clarity of mind, confidence in one's self and abilities, rationale of thought, and integrity. Our Jain background is an advantage that we must maximize. Only after people realize that business success can incorporate ethical decisions will the strength of Jainism become evident. The question is not whether it can be done, because it can be; rather the question is, will you?
Links
Trax In Space: www.traxinspace.com Trance In Space: www.tranceinspace.com Digital Music Revolution Magazine: www.dmrmag.com ModPlug Central: www.modplug.com
GENDER ROLES -
THE FISHBOWL EXPERIMENT
facilitated by Manav Jain and Jugna Shah
This experiment will seek out the opinions and impressions of young men and women participants concerning their roles in marriage. The goal is NOT to validate or denigrate any particular point of view. In this installment, the participants will discuss two particular questions: (1) "Why do so many Indo-American men go to India for their marriage partner?", and (2) "Why do so many Indo-American women go outside of the Indian community to find their marriage partner?" (Please note that the term IndoAmerican is meant to be inclusive of the American continents and not just the United States).
The session participants separate into two groups: men and women. One group sits on the floor in a circle while the other group sits on chairs in an outer circle around the first group. The floor group spends 15 minutes discussing the two questions while the facilitator writes down their responses on a big poster pad. The floor group is free to disagree with the premise of the questions and its particular framing as well as discussing the answers to the questions. During these 15 minutes the chair group listens to the discussion but they are not allowed to speak. At the end of the 15 minutes, the two groups switch positions and begin the discussion anew. For the remaining 30 minutes, the two groups reconvene as one and discuss the results of the previous discussions. This is the opportunity for each group to react to the other's comments or omissions. Participants are encouraged both to agree and to disagree. Participants may also implant new ideas into the discussion. The hope is to come to some type of consensus to answer the questions, but this entirely depends on the nature of the discussion and the viewpoints of the participants.
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