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Anekânta & Building a New Society
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who follow my religion, all the rest should be extirpated.” The main strengths of religion are non-violence, friendliness and fraternity. The absolutist view has changed non-violence into violence, friendliness into hostility and fraternity into
animosity.
Co-existence implies tolerance and freedom of thought. Both tolerance and freedom of thought are meaningless if we try to enforce our likes, ideas, lifestyle and principles on all others. Nature has infinite variety, which lends it splendor. Beauty will lose all its charms and meaning if all plants, trees and flowers look alike. The combined principle of satyam (truth), Śhivam (benefaction), Sundaram (beauty) inheres in the principle of unity in diversity and diversity in unity. It is only the above harmony which forms the basis of co-existence. Monism and dualism are two principles belonging to philosophy. Unity cannot be explained in the absence of monism and diversity cannot be explained without dualism. A harmonious combination of monism and dualism alone constitutes a holistic viewpoint for explaining the world. Likewise, there are enough factors of unity between the animate and the inanimate. On its basis we are able to realize what existence means. There are factors of diversity also between the animate and the inanimate. On its basis we are able to divide and analyze existence. Harmony is a principle of the search for unity, but it does not negate the pre-existent diversity. It is only in this way that we can explain an individual as well as society.
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