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Union Minister for Tourism and
Culture, Smt. Ambika Soni presided over the function, British High
Commissioner in India, Sir Michel Arthur was also among those
present. Following is the text of the Prime Minister's address on the
occasion:
I am delighted to be present on this historic occasion of
launching of the Jain Manuscripts Catalogue. This ancient land of
India has been home to some of the greatest religious movements and
religions known to mankind, among which Jainism occupies an
important place of pride. It is an important constituent of our
composite culture and civilizational heritage.
The noble principles of life and spiritualism expounded in the
philosophy and practice of Jainism have influenced successive
generations of people worldwide. Its enduring legacy of non-violence
has shaped our approach to life and nature. Its principled stand
against a hierarchical caste system inspires us to fight for
equality of all even today. The rational basis of Jainism has
contributed to the growth of scientific temper and the fight against
superstition and blind belief. Rejecting the rigidities of doctrine,
Jainism presented a new openness and in a new freshness in our
approach to matters considered spiritual . This approach has helped
in grappling with social, religious and even economic problems
facing mankind. Jainism is part and parcel of the rich tradition of
rational intellectual discourse that has flourished in this ancient
land of India.
Indeed, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that Jainism represents the
highest flight of logic. It has taken nothing for granted and has
endeavored to prove metaphysical truth by challenging the intellect.
The tradition not to take anything for granted and examine all
postulates on the basis of reason and intellect needs to be followed
in our own time.
As today marks the 42nd anniversary of the passing of
Jawaharlal Nehru, it is appropriate for us to recall his observation
in The Discovery of India that it was Jainism that helped us better
appreciate the rights of all living beings. He saw in Jainism the
endeavor to lead the good life, the higher life. It is this approach
to life that in recent years has influenced humankinds thinking
about the environment and about our planet. This respect for life
has to be constantly reiterated and inculcated in our minds. That is the only way
humankind can make progress. In fact, in our quest for material
prosperity we sometimes forget the spiritual heritage of our civilization. A balance between the material and the spiritual can help restore sanity when we are caught in the rough
and tumble of life. An appreciation of the beauty of life and nature
is needed to ensure sustainable development.
Over the millennia of our nations history, the Jain way of
life has left its mark not only on our intellectual heritage, but
also upon our tangible cultural heritage. The impact of the Jain
tradition upon our literature, our visual arts and our architecture
and our way of life is truly enormous, and it remains very visible
even today. We only need to look at the heritage of the Dilwara
Temples at Mount Abu, or the magnificent multi-faith art of the
Ajanta caves, to realize just how deeply our civilization has
benefited from this precious facet of our history.
However there is a further contribution of the Jain tradition
that has scarcely been explored in the past decades of rediscovery
of our past. Here I refer to the creation of history from ancient
documents. While we have done reasonably well in utilizing a portion
of the vast treasure of available historical material unearthed in
India, it is fair to say that in such an ancient land as ours, we
can never be satisfied with the variety and quantity of material
that we have used. Manuscripts and documentary material, as a result
of their very fragile nature, have not been utilized as much as
other historical material. It is in this context that your effort to
replenished to the corpus of available source material for the recreation of our history is so valuable. I commend you warmly for
this initiative. I am sure your initiative will throw new light on
our understanding of the historical context of this great faith.
We must also appreciate another aspect that invests today's
event with such value. Let us acknowledge that despite our pride as
a people in our ancient civilization, our domestic efforts to
preserve its legacy have been far from adequate. Consequently, we
have lost, perhaps irretrievably, part of our heritage. The
historian A L Basham wrote about the "Wonder That Was
India". How much of that wonder have we preserved? How much of
it do we appreciate and value? In this context, your efforts as a
group of concerned and socially- aware individuals, to contribute so
much time and effort to this Catalogue has great exemplary value in
our society today. I thank you for this.
I therefore believe that the Jain Manuscript Catalogue will be
a repository of insights that can help us pursue a more fulfilling
life. The values associated with Jainism are the common heritage of
humankind. The whole world derives inspiration from these values. If
we do not preserve those insights and make them available to future
generations we will be failing in our duty to our posterity. By
preparing this Catalogue, and by doing so not only in India but also
in the United Kingdom, the Institute of Jainology has served the cause of
all humanity, in the highest traditions of Jainism.
I sincerely hope the good work of the Institute of Jainology
will continue and the present Manuscript will inspire others to
undertake similar noble efforts. I commend you for this labour of
love, and I wish you every success in your future endeavors.
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