________________
22
66 : Applied Philosophy of Jainism Though wealth plays an important role in our life and it is considered as one of the four Puruşārthas i.e. the pursuits of life, yet it cannot be maintained as the sole end of life. Jainas, all the time, consider wealth as a means to lead a life and not a destination. In Uttarādhyayana-sūtra it has been rightly observed that "those who do not have anything as their own lead a happily life. But it does not mean that Jaina ācāryas do not realise the importance of wealth in life. Ācārya Amrtacandra maintains that the property or wealth is an external vitality of man. One who deprives a person of his wealth commits violence. Jainas accept the utility of wealth, the only thing which they want to say is that wealth is always a means and it should not be considered as an end. No doubt, wealth is considered as a means by materialist and spiritualist as well, the only difference is that for materialist it is a means to lead a luxurious life while for spiritualist, as well as Jainas, it is a means to the welfare of human society and not for one's own enjoyment. The accumulation of wealth in itself is not an evil but it is the attachment towards its hording and lust for enjoyment, which makes it an evil. If we save the humanity from class-conflicts, we will have to accept self imposed limitation of our possessions and modes of consumption. That is why Lord Mahāvīra has propounded the vow of complete non-possession for monks and nuns and vow of limitation of possession for iaities. Laities should have a check on their luxurious life and modes of consumption. He prescribed the vow of limitation in consumption. The property and wealth should be used for the welfare of humanity and to serve the needy, he prescribed the vow of charity named as Atithisarvibhāga. It shows that charity is not an obligation towards the monks and weaker sections of society but through charity we give them what is their right. In Jainism, it is the pious duty of a house-holder to fix a limit to his possessions as well as for his consumption and to use his extra money for the service of mankind. It is through the observation of these vows that we can restore peace and harmony in human society and eradicate economic inequality and class conflicts. Problem of the Preservation of Ecological Equilibrium The world has been facing a number of problems such as mental tension, war and violence, ideological conflicts, economic inequal
