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67/1, 1994-413 2014
Anekantavada : A Way to Peace - building
-Samani Rohit Pragya
The quest for peace is an eternal pursuit for human fulfilment. Peace or absence of antagonistic, violent or destablising conflict is essential for existence. Human being can become human and humane only is conditions of peace. Creativity, spirituality, individual and collective achievements attain grandeur and glory only whenthere is peace. Qualities of compassion, forgiveness, love, sharing and universal solidarity become cherished only when a community, society or nation is at peace - within and around. After demolition of World Trade Centre the youth of America have formed an organisation named as we want peace and no war and want to start a new dialogue to replace hatred by propagating friendship among the nations and different communities. The UN has declared this decade as he Decade of Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the children of the world. The goal is to attain peace but man is entangled in the whirlpool of misery. Quarrels and conflicts have become the part and parcel of life. The fire of agitation burns continually. Is there any way to end this fire ? In this paper an attmpt has been made to present unique priciple of Jain Philosophy called 'Anekantavada' as a one of the best solutions to end this fire of restlessness.
Today we think world as a 'global village'. It is getting and smaller. We have vast networks of rapid surface communication and information system but we have a very disappointing communication system at the social and emotional level. Our soceity has become a curious mixture of advanced technology and backward psychology. Humanity is tottering today upon the brink of the principle of self-annihailation for the lack of proper understanding which includes understanding ourselves, understanding each other. At no period of human history man was in such a need of a sound Philosophy than today. How to attain peace is a big question. Peace needs a new civilization, a new culture and a new philosophy, where there is no narrowness and no partiality. Huxley is correct to a great extent when he says that war exists because people with it to exist. We cannot check violence by remaining violent. But non-violence must precede non-violence in thought. Anekantavada', key principle of Jainism helps to practice non-violence in thought. Anekantavada is an extension of Ahimsa. Anekantavada is the corner stone of Jainism around which the whole philosophy has been developed. It is required to throw light on how the theory of Anekantavada originated and developed in Jainism. Anekantavada : A Solution to Metaphysical Problems
According to the Jain literature there 363 schools of thought in the time of lord Mahavira?. All were discussing individual and cosmic realities in there own way. Lord Mahavira, articulated a non absolutistic perspective known
