________________
He has to be absolutely dynamic to be able to be static momentarily according to need. These things are nearly impossible for us to understand at our mundane level.
However, we should never forget that every true philosophical principle has to be applicable at the mundane level, though of course with a necessary change in parameters. This application is the true test of its perfection. Thus, the ahimsa principle should be applicable at the most himsak or violent level also. Unless we tackle violence at its extreme we cannot establish ahimsa way as a workable system.
The success of any complex system, such as human society, lies in continued interaction and cooperation among its numerous components in terms of experience and thought process. Problems arise when the increasing trend of specialization, instead of honing the intellect for the benefit of all, somehow compartmentalizes the society and creates insulated static pockets in the otherwise dynamic system. Supplementing the natural clash of egos, this trend accelerates social disintegration.
DISCIPLINE
The word 'discipline' has been made so fearsome that we even avoid discussing it. This appears to have been done by those of our ancestors who could not grasp its true meaning and were inspired only by their misplaced ambitions. Those who could fathom its profundity were systematically weeded out. In hands of the ignorant and with support of the ambitious, discipline gradually transformed into negation, proscription, suppression and finally into oppression. As a natural reaction to this trend came movements of freedom from such oppression at every level in every facet of life. However, the quest for this freedom did not stop at the right AHIMSA: THE SCIENCE OF PEACE 144
For Private & Personal Use Only
Jain Education International
www.jainelibrary.org