Ahimsa the Science of Peace

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

Page 40

The quality of any interpretation depends on two factors; the purity and depth of knowledge of the interpreter, and the general intellectual standard of the society at which the interpretation is directed. The original concept must have come in the form of simple statement of reality as perceived directly by the thinker. The disciples linking him and the society must have first tried to understand the concept as far as the depth of their knowledge allowed them to, and then to put it in a simpler form understandable by the common people. As the distance between the original thinker and the common man grew in all dimensions (space, time, and intellect), the true knowledge diffused. That is why the practice of regularly examining and correcting the available information is very important and essential for removing the accumulated fog.
Philosophy, in its purest form, is an individual pursuit. The knowledge thus gained is then shared, accepted, and followed by people around the original thinker. With passage of time it is examined, debated, elaborated, dressed, etc. What results from these processes is religion or, to be precise, social religion. It has been an established practice in Indian society that almost all rules of social conduct have been included in religion in the name of god, or as causes of good and bad results in next life. May be, the reason behind this practice is that the fear of unknown is much greater than the fear of law.
In any event, this practice has vastly increased the volume of religious literature. As such, it is almost imperative that while looking analytically into the religious and philosophical works of the past, one must try to probe more and more deeply to dig out the truth concealed within the numerous interpretations. An unbiased approach becomes all the
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