________________ 170 ACARYA VIJAYAVALLABHASURI COMMEMORATION VOLUME by his priest for numerous yesterdays. A better world will not be built until a sufficient number of men and women turn away from the outer religion of rites and ceremonies to the inner religion of life. Not church-going but living by the precepts of the Sermon on the Mount constitutes true Christianity. And what is true of Christianity is equally true of every religion, including Jainism. Time is precious; we cannot afford to neglect or to postpone the refashioning of our religious life. By "we" the human individual is meant. Popes or purohits or sadhus are not to be depended upon for religious reformation. They have their own vested interests. Priests are the opponents of the Prophets and the human individual needs Mahavira and the Tirthankaras, and their peers of other religious schools. Men and women have to recognize that true religion is the Way of Life. What they feel and think, what they say and do must be according to the precepts of the Elder Brothers, the Christs, the Buddhas, the Tirthankaras. Along this line alone must true religious renovation take place. Is Jainism capable of imparting instruction in the science and art of living the life? We answer-Yes; emphatically-Yes. Of all the existing formal religious creeds Buddhism and Jainism contain the very best elements to enable men and women most promptly to become religious in the true sense of that word. It must be remembered, however, that both of these have a holy and hoary lineage. The duty of the Jainas is to uphold the pure teachings of Mahavira and His illustrious predecessors. The world of today is in dire need of the moral precepts of those mighty philanthropists. The Jainas can do this, if a few Jainas, both men and women, combine to study together their own religious lore with a view to the personal application of the grand precepts, and then to promulgate by the spoken and written word what they have learnt, understood and practised. The old sayings and propositions have to be shown to be practical and profitable. The high standard of Jaina living must be shown to be superior to a standard of living depending on gadgets and the consuming of rich food and questionable drinks. The Jaina standard of high living would consist in simple living founded upon noble thinking. Let us turn and point to some of the teachings of Jainism which are applicable even under modern conditions and which carry within them. selves the seeds of betterment not only for the individual practitioner but Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org
