________________
him completely and he himself renounces and becomes a mendicant. This is a great story where two brothers have much at stake (part of the empire and land) and still they are thinking of resolving with the spirit of ahimsa. In our daily lives, even in small conflicts, we resort to himsa. But always there is a better way. Ahimsa and being an ahimsatmak means always bringing "win win” situations and lasting peace in families.
Ahimsa is living proof that spiritual values cannot only be combined with politics but that they also have a successful result in conflict resolution.
Now you decide: is this behavior consistent with ahimsa?
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHAT WEDO IN THE TEMPLES AND WHAT WE DO OUTSIDE
Here again, there are some Jain brothers and sisters who separate the two—i.e what they do in the temples and what they do outside. In my opinion, the biggest temples and poojas are outside the temples. o In 2009, President Obama went to Ghana in West Africa.
There, near the City of Accra, he was taken to visit a site where, during the African slave trades, the slaves were held in captivity in dungeons prior to the arrival of the ships that will take them to Europe and North and South America. In Ghana and adjoining areas, many slave trade agents would go out and forcibly kidnap men and women, bring them into these warehouses and hold them like cattle waiting for the arrival of the ships. This all took place on the ground floor of a vast building. On the second floor of the same building there was a church where the slave captors and traders (but not the slaves) would go for their poojas/prayers and religious rituals. After seeing this, President Obama was in tears. He called it "striking” that “right above one of the dungeons where male captives
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
183
