Are Jains Really Richer?

-Mahavir Sanglikar

The true richness of any community does not depend on its economical progress, financial richness or GDP of that community, but it is measured using various parameters. The richness of any community is in how many intellectuals, scientists, thinkers, philosophers, mathematicians, researchers, artists, authors, actors, music composers, singers, sportspersons, social reformers, social activists, educationalists, professors etc. it has given. If any community, linguistic group or religious group has failed to give such a variety of people, it is just a shameful thing for it.

If any community is engaged largely in unproductive business like trading, money lending, share broking, commission agency, Satta Bazar, Lottery etc, it is also a shameful thing. Members of such community are just parasites living on mercy of others. Such community has no right to call themselves as superiors to others, because they are not. They never can be.

If you remember any great Jain personality from ancient and medieval or even modern history of India, you will find that he was not engaged in money matters! Money oriented people cannot produce great personalities, as they are unproductive.

If Jains wish that Jain community should become superior, they should work in every field of life. Let the world see Olympians, Oscar awards and Nobel Prize winners, Einsteins, Abdul Kalams, Mother Teresas, Abdul Hameeds etc. from Jain community. It is not an impossible thing, as Jain community has given great persons in past. Even today, we can do it. The first step towards it is to convert us to knowledge orientation from money orientation.

There are millions of non-merchant Jains all over India and when compared to Merchant Jains, they are far ahead in various fields. Even in the merchant Jain communities the people who have thrown away merchantship, have made a great contribution to the nation and mankind.