Ahimsa Varsh 2600th Birth Anniversary of Mahavir Swami

Author(s): Naresh Jain, P Jayaraman
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Page 47

Tenets of Bhagwan Mahavir – Ahimsa and Anekantavad
- N. Sugalchand Jain Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation, Chennai, India
here is an interesting and important aspect of Jainism; this relates
to the definition of Ahimsa as something more than non-killing of a living being, human, animal or other wise. Ahimsa is held to be comprehensive in the sense that one should never hurt others even by thought, word or deed e.g. shouting at others (rather than requesting or advising or suggesting) itself constitutes a major violation of the principle of Ahimsa even though such shouting may not cause physical harm to anybody. So does making a servant work beyond his ability or in excess of what has been agreed to as a reasonable return for the wages paid to him. Even forcing members of one's own family adopt a particular course of action against their desire would thus constitute himsa. Disturbing others through noise (which is very common in these days) would also violate the requirements of Ahimsa; as does taking more than one's share of anything from a common pool. What has been said above could establish the all embracing unity of Ahimsa as the cornerstone of the Jaina Doctrine.
One should not however get away with the feeling that Ahimsa involves a rigid adherence to the concept of non-violence. As the world has to func
tion, there are certain require ments, which would facilitate the average person's day to day life in the world as it exists today. As we are aware, ideal conditions never exist for the pracitce of Ahimsa to be followed to the letter. For instance, civil disturbances and riots have to be quelled, if an average householder has to lead his normal life. Similarly, the country may have to defend itself against foreign invasion or may have to wage war against another country in pursuit of a righteous cause. Obviously such steps would require the use of force by the agency which governs the country, be it a hereditary king or a democratically elected Government. This agency cannot and should not absolve itself of its responsibility to manage the country's affairs by using violence where absolutely necessary on the ground that they are strict adherents to the concept of non-violence. The Jaina philosophy is very particular in laying down that one is bound to do his duty in pursuit of a legitimate or righteous cause even if, in so doing, he has to use violence as a tool of last resort. Obviously Jainism, as almost all other religious philosopohies, recognizes that there are no absolutes except the fact that in whatever one does, his motive must be clearly unselfish and in pursuit of a right cause. It has
been asserted time and again by the preceptors of Jainism that non-violence is no alternative to in-action and violence is even preferable to cowardice in deserving occasions.
The idea of Anekantavad evolves out of the understanding that no one has the final wisdom and worthwhile idea evolves out of a fusion of many ideas (even though some of them may be totally opposed to each other) which would always be more universally acceptable and serve the interest of the development of society in a harmonious manner instead of a single or few ideas thrust on it by force. Society has always progressed on the basis of a synthesis of conflicting ideas whether they are related to different religious philosophies or even mundane things. Willingness to examine different ideas with an open mind and ultimately find the kernel of truth underlying different perceptions would always provide a better solution to any problem. It has been said that the truth is one, but saints and seers may see it from different angles. In fact even truth is not apparently absolute; for instance, people were sincerely believing at a point of time that the earth was flat, it was at the center of universe and everything else revolved around it. A few hundred years later, we accepted
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