Ahimsa and Jainism

Author(s): Vijayvallabhsuri
Publisher: Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi

Page 24

A himsa DR. A. N. UPADHYE
A CCORDING to Jainism, the explanation of one's joys and sorrows, of one's prosperity and adversity and of one's high and low abilities, is to be found in one's own Karma, both of the past and of the present. Thus an individual is an architect of his fortune, here and elsewhere; and there is no place for a god or creator who metes out favours or punishments. For this very reason, Jainism lays special stress on ethics and has drawn up a syste. matic code of morality which one is expected to follow as a responsible member of society and for one's spiritual progress.
The doctrine of Ahimsa permeates the entire ethical outlook of Jainism. It is a wrong presumption that the Jain Tirthaukaras preached Ahimsa just to counteract Vedic sacrifices which involved killing of animals; for such a view, there is very little evidence in the Jain scriptures.