Ahimsa the Science of Peace

Author(s): Surendra Bothra
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 18

AUTHOR'S NOTE
The first edition of this book was received well and appreciated for its approach. International scene has undergone considerable transformation since then but the usefulness of ahimsa as a potent instrument of universal peace remains unchanged. The only unfortunate part is that its application has not enhanced as much as it ought to be.
We give more emphasis to hasty short-term solutions and grossly neglect long-term solutions. We tend to forget that to fight disease one has to strengthen the body besides giving curative treatment. In the same way steps to strengthen the moral, ethical, humanitarian and economic fabric of the society have to be given due importance and priority.
After further elaboration on ahimsa way of life, specially with reference to prevailing problems of terrorism and environmental degradation, I have included some suggestions regarding its wider application. Religious organizations including the Jain can be of great help in this direction. However, leaving aside some welcome exceptions, they are reluctant to compromise their self-imposed ritualistic rigidity.
The perpetrators of rigid codes conveniently forget that Mahavir gave the unique principle of relativity of truth. When he called something right he did not mean that it was right for everyone at all times, at all places and under all conditions. It means that there is a scope of a thing being right for someone under certain circumstances but the same thing may be wrong for some other person or even the same person under different parameters of time, place and circumstances.
AHIMSA: THE SCIENCE OF PEACE