Jainism The Cosmic Vision

SR No.: 034278
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Mahavir Foundation
Publication Year: 2008
Total Pages: 137
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 2 MB

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Timeless Message of Bhagwan Mahavita oldest book of Jain religion Acharang Sutra, it is said that nonviolence is a true universal religion. Acharya Shri Umaswatiji said, E T TATTH. Mahavira's non-violence encompasses the entire universe and he had emphasised unity of life.
It was after a gap of 2500 years that Mahatma Gandhi felt inspired by the same principles of non-violence and compassion that Mahavira had propounded. In August 1946 Mahatma stood, unarmed before a violent mob and his compassion melted their hearts. Mountbatten said at that time, "What a battalion could not have achieved, has been achieved by this frail man and has saved India from a conflagration." Nonviolence links Mahavira with Mahatma, "as if there was an invisible traffic between Mahavira and Gandhi."
Jainism: The Cosmic Vision Mahavira's concept of non-violence encompassed the universe - human beings as well as all other organisms. Cruelty is not physical, but is innate, inborn. Compassion to all needs to be practised, he said.
In the past three thousand years, fifteen thousand wars have been fought. Among all creatures human beings have the capacity to annihilate their fellow-beings. If there is a nuclear war today, there will be a nuclear winter and the entire human race will be frozen to death. This reminds one of an incident from the life of Maxim Gorky, a Russian writer. He talked to the villagers about the achievements of science. He said science had helped man to fly in space and to fathom the depths of oceans. Once, when he was discoursing on wonders of science, an old villager shot back saying: "You are right. Science has shown us how to fly and how to reach the bottom of a sea, but has it taught us how to live in peace on this planet?" Gorky had no answer. Mahavira has taught us how to live, has shown us the way to good living. We live today in perpetual danger of a war, war with weapons of mass destruction ! There are a variety of bombs, each one capable of killing thousands at one trial! There is a stockpile of 30,000 nuclear weapons to decimate the human race in a jiffy. Violence has become a way of life and is seen in each and every act of a being. The mass media have played a negative role in inflaming our passions, in providing an impetus to violence. Human kind is in the grip of hunger, but money is spent on fashioning weapons of destruction, on planning war strategies rather in removing hunger and poverty. People live in a state of fear, terror and insecurity. Nations talk of war and prepare for war. Hence the need for non-violence. Non-violence is a way of life. It comes from within. In the
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As we step into the next century, every one has to make non-violence a part of their being, their very existence. Jain philosophy lays emphasis on totality of life, not on fragmented existence. There are people who take care to see that tiny insects are not killed, but they do not flinch when it comes to exploiting others. Everyone has a split personality and this leads to fragmentation which is highly detrimental. Non-violence must pervade one's life, one's every action and activity. Compassion should be encompassing as was evident in Mahavira's love for Chandkaushik, a venomous snake.
Acquisitiveness or possessiveness is directly related to violence. Exploitation and corruption are also manifestations of violence. To exploit the disadvantaged or the underprevileged is also a form of violence. "Jain religion affirms the co-existence of non-violence and human existence," says Muni Santbalji. Jonathan Swift has said, “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." We must