Acharya Mahaprajna
Two students study together at the same school. One possesses all modern means of living in his house, radio, TV, fridge and so on. The other student does not possess even the ordinary means such as a cycle. Seeing the well-to-do student, a feeling arises in the mind of the resource less student that he is poor. Because of comparison, a feeling arises in his mind to acquire these by any means.
This mentality has thrived because no thinking is done on the purity of the means and moral values. This is the principal deficiency of the system. Crime has increased enormously. Perhaps, for this, man is not at fault. If there were only the middle or the average class, perhaps, so much of crimes would not have taken place. But it is not so and so the crimes have multiplied.
Today three different classes have emerged: high, middle and low. With this, crime and violence have received great encouragement. In the minds of the class living below the poverty line, high aspirations have arisen, but they remain deprived of the means of achieving them. Under these conditions, morality, truthfulness and spirituality, all these vital elements, have become a casualty and the profession of adherence to them is only hypocrisy. Today's man regards all these elements to be shields raised by the bourgeoisie class to serve its own self-interests. After rejecting everything, he takes recourse to the world of crime. This is the mentality that thrives with the economic system. If we do not give attention to this social psychosis, even after attaining complete economic development, utter unhappiness will prevail.
The cherished world economic system should be such under which one nation cannot exploit another nation and cannot establish its technological, economic or ideological sovereignty. If such a system is evolved, some answer will be found for today's problems. It cannot be said that any system would become permanent. There is nothing permanent whatsoever.
That which is man-made can certainly be resolved. If we harmonize the Systems, we can integrate Mahavira, Gandhi, Marx and Keynes. Where Keynes says that we achieve enormous development, produce more and more and also develop resources. Mahavira's voice ought to be heard:
Kalyanam Aham Appa ua bahura va paiggham parichchissami
The world be thankful when I would relinquish excessive possessions.
On the one side, there is a feeling of relinquishment - a feeling of disbursement, and on the other, there is a feeling of acquiring more and more. When both these voices are heard, our new economic system will yield a new solution. The world will become more practical, more meaningful. Whenever there is only one voice to be heard, there can be no rational solution. That is why we combine both the elements of truth; both these go on continuously ringing in our ears. Neither intense passion will expand with wealth, nor poverty and starvation will persist. Man will heave a sigh of relief only when this kind of a new system evolves itself.
