Prof. Dr. S. Cromwell Crawford
Jainism is a religion waiting to be reborn. The likelihood, though, is that its rebirth will take place in the West, rather than in the East. Throughout the ages, Jainism has always been ahead of itself. The ancient saints possessed ideas and ideals, which could not be fully understood or appreciated in the pre-modern world, and therefore they had to await present developments in order to come into their own. It is this historic fruition of Jainism to contribute toward the making of the new millennium that supplies the motivation for Jains to revive and reinvigorate their tradition To illustrate the premise that Jainism has ideas and ideals that are eminently relevant to contemporary issues, we take a look at developments in the areas of ecology and theology.
It is common knowledge that people everywhere are facing an environmental crisis in the areas of global warming, biodiversity, waste, pollution, population, and nuclear proliferation. We have thrown ourselves all the way back to our primitive beginnings in which the dominant problem on earth was coping with the environment. The only difference between our tribal beginnings and the situation today is that the problems now are of our own making. We have found little difficulty to make the earth accessible, but never manageable. Now the price of our survival is the management of our planet. This calls for a new philosophy in the comprehension and management of our planet.
Jain philosophy has all of the elements to address the present crisis.
These include:
- The Principle of Equality;
- The Principle of Non-Violence;
- The Principle of Consequentially,
- The Principle of Responsibility;
- The Principle of Reciprocity; and
- The Principle of Restraint.
The relevance of these principles to the environmental problems cited above is clear, even on the briefest descriptions.
First, the Jain religion is built on the bedrock of equality, which is not limited to socio-political considerations, but is a universal concept, including all selves: earth-bodied, water-bodied, vegetable organisms, insects, birds, and animals.
Second, the principle of equality provides the rationale for the second principle of non-violence. Ahimsa is the first of five anuvratas or minor vows a householder must observe.
All religions accord a place of honour to non-violence, but when the Jain sages declared 'ahimsa parmo dharmah,' they were affirming ahimsa as the lynchpin of all religion.
Third, the doctrine of samaiya is also correlated with the doctrine of karma. Numerous scriptures warn of the consequences of doing harm by thought, word and deed.
Fourth, karma underscores the principle of responsibility. Jainism grants homo sapiens a superior status, but since responsibility is seen as a dimension of human character, people are held answerable for their stewardship of the natural environment. Here superiority is not a license for the strong to exploit the weak, but an obligation for them to protect and to preserve.
Fifth, the principle of reciprocity is rooted in Jain ethical notions of equality, individuality and mutuality. Recognising that life forms occupy heterogeneous bodies, and that they are all individualised through their karma, it follows that our perceptions of others is bound to be inadequate, and efforts must therefore be made to overcome the inadequacy and to become aware of other beings in all of their idiosyncratic differences. This is the Jain version of the Golden Rule.
'The fanatic is usually a person who does what he thinks God would do if God knew all of the facts of the case'. Finally, there is the principle of restraint, which arises from the essentially ascetic ethos of Jainism. Restraint is not some masochistic form of aberrant behaviour. It grows out of an understanding of the human condition. Ignorant of the true nature of the jiva, humans identify with the ajiva and become immersed within it through the seduction of the senses. The trouble here is that the senses can never be satisfied; hence cupidity and suffering go hand in hand. To save people from the pain and disappointment of looking into the bottomless pit of human wants, Jainism includes aparigraha into its five vratas or abstinences. It means freedom from slavery to avarice and unnecessary luxuries which burden the environment.
A second area in which Jainism has something important to contribute to the modern world is in respect to the way we think in matters of religion, given the emerging pluralism of global existence. Eminent scholars warn us of 'the clash of cultures' in which fanaticism poses as the chief threat to world peace.
Fanaticism wears three masks:
- racism,
- religious bigotry, and
- ethnic hatred.
These three hatreds are the root cause of almost all of the fighting around the globe, as is most evident in the current atrocities of ethnic cleansing going on in the former Yugoslavia. Clashes between Hindus and Muslims in India, and between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Ireland tell the same sorry tale. In America, religious fanaticism is behind the bombing of abortion clinics, the burning of black churches, and the desecration of Jewish synagogues. The fanatic is usually a person who does what he thinks God would do if God knew all of the facts of the case.
What is needed to end all cultural wars is a Jain type of ethic of anekantavada. This notion highlights the role of relativity in all human thinking, especially when it comes to matters of religion. Anekantavada fosters a mind-set that says: things are not always as they seem; that contradictions abound in our everyday perceptions; that we all occupy subjective worlds; and that sincerity is no guarantee for truth and certainty.
'The environmental and theological ideas of Jainism are but two examples of the rich legacy of this ancient religion
which Jains must revive and reinvigorate'
they are already among the wealthiest and best educated of North Americans and Britons. These communal assets and qualifications make the challenge of a Jain revival, not just a matter of opportunity but of obligation, for to whom much is given, much is required. The land which has given us the gift of life and has nurtured us in faith, has sacrificed much to see its sons and daughters leave for distant shores. It is now our duty to make that sacrifice count for something, or else we will count for nothing.