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RELEVANCE OF MAHĀVĪRA'S MESSAGE IN THE WORLD
OF TODAY
J. P. Jain
Lord Mahavira, the great benefector of mankind, renounced all the worldly pleasures and delicated himself entirely to the service, not only of mankind but of all living beings. “The nobler a soul is, the more objects of compassion it hath,” said Bacon, and Mahāvira's compassion for all and sundry know no bounds. He has rightly been called the 'greatest apostle of Ahimsa'. With him non-violence was the highest religion and the concept of 'live and let live' the golden rule of all human conduct.
The conflict between 'Hiṁsā' and 'Ahiṁsā' dates from the beginning of man's history, but it was, perhaps, never before so poignant as at present. There is also no doubt that it was the first awakening of the Ahimsite attitude in the soul of the uncivilized, barbarous, primitive man which marked his transformation from a veritable brute into a human being. The moment he began to realise the truth and justice of the precepts live and let live' and 'do upto others as you would have others do unto you', augered the dawn of human reason, culture and civilization. The endeavour to translate these wholesome precepts into practice gradually humanised the brute in man.
The brute could, however, not be completely annihilated; it still lurked and lived. The attraction of gross materialism, the desire to indulge in unrestrained sensual pleasures and the greed to acquire
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