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charitable. Bhagvān Mahāvīra, too, preached only due to His extreme compassion for saving and protecting all the worldly living beings.
Similarly, the Lord saved Mrgāvati by preaching the faith to king Caņdapradyota. Many an incident in general and these two incidents in particular, from the life of Bhagvān Mahāvīra, as well as, His discourses delivered during His monastic tours after His enlightenment are the living examples of positive non-violence.
A peculiar thing about all these incidents is that in all these no one was ever harmed but all involved were immensely benefited. The truth is that non-violence in the form of mercy, kindness and compassion is always beneficial for all.
There are many words that indicate mercy. In the Niryukti on Aupapātika sūtra it has been said, 'Anukampā krpā dayetyekārthāḥ l' that is - mercy, kindness and compassion are synonymous. In the Niśītha cūrņi, too, it has been said that to be moved by the misery of the miserable is also a form of mercy only (Anukampanamanukampā dayāyām 1). Therefore, we will discuss, in detail, various forms of mercy such as kindness, compassion, service, etc., in the chapters that follow.
Positive Non-Violence
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