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THE CONCEPT
So much has been said, by so many, since so long, about Ahimsa in Jain literature and preaching that it has almost become a synonym of Jainism. The excessive emphasis on mere rituals has done more harm than good to the concept. For the common man Ahimsa, instead of being one of the most important concepts, has become the only concept of Jainism.
Today most of the followers of Jainism, leaving aside the students and scholars of the subject, consider their duty and pursuit to have been concluded simply by observing the grosser and formal aspects of Ahimsa. The codes of conduct have lost their basic meaning and have been reduced to mere rituals by this superficial observance.
It is the lopsided preaching and observance that has made the Jain principles of Ahimsa a theory that makes its followers weak and impractical. If we look into what is really meant by Ahimsa, it would, by its almost total absence in practice today, emphasize the need of research into Jain philosophy with the view to formulate healthy reforms in its applied form.
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