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chewed in body, mind, soul and speech because it pollutes the soul and disturbs the strategic balance between matter and energy. Jains believe that all living things have a soul and, therefore, deserve full respect and tolerance. To live and let others live, humans must act with understanding and tolerance, never resorting to violence or anger. To keep the environment clean, Jainism insists on taking great precaution and care while using and disposing of the articles of daily use. While leading family life, Jains are expected to take five vows known as Atomic vows in order to train themselves to live disciplined, ascetic lives. These atomic vows are negative in nature, yet their adoption can solve many social, moral and ethical problems that are polluting the environment of the world today.
To conclude, Jain philosophy does not believe in the purification of our external environment as an end in itself, but rather insists on using internal anti-pollutants such as Right conduct, Right deeds, Right faith and Right behavior by society. According to Jain philosophy, violence is nothing but anger, possessiveness, ego, ignorance and death. These are the most dangerous pollutants for the moral, material and spiritual health of the world. Only Ahimsa can curb these pollutants and serve as a lighthouse to the entire world. It is the only way for the survival and continuance of the cycles of nature. Ultimately, Ahimsa is beneficial to all forms of life; It is water for the thirsty; food for the hungry; medicine for the sick; knowledge for the ignorant; freedom from Jiva. It can also purify the air, water, land and vegetation through a disciplined and balanced interaction of matter and energy.
In brief, Ahimsa is the nectar that revives the dead and can lead humanity to new material and spiritual heights.
If there be righteousness in the heart,
there will be beauty in the character. If there be beauty in the character,
there will be harmony at home. If there be harmony at home,
there will be order in the nation. When there is order in each nation, there will be peace in the world.
- Chinese Proverb
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Jain Education International
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not broken up
into fragments
by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out
from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving
stretches its arms towards perfection.
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward
by thee into ever widening thought and action
Into the heaven of Freedom, my Father, let my country awake
-Rabindranath Tagore
His Holiness Acharya Sushil Kumar Ji Maharaj
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