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Religion in everyday life
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violence when we violate our ethical vows. We commit violence when we utter untruths, when we commit thefts, when we shun chastity and when we hoard excessive possessions. Therefore, these must be avoided at all cost. It is to do away with violence and to establish non-violence that so many vows of abstinence and restraints have been created. Non-violence in conduct and anekānta in thought, this is the orginal face of Jainism. Ahimsā is religion and anekānta is philosophy. Faith is religion and logic is philosophy. Action is religion and knowledge is philosophy. Buddhism also has two schools of thought - Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna. Hīnayāna primarily focusses on the realm of conduct and Mahāyāna that of knowledge. Even if we look into Sānkhya and Yoga, we arrive at the same conclusions that Sănkhya is its philosophical aspect and Yoga is its aspect of conduct. The same is true of Uttara Mīmānsā and Pūrva Mīmānsă. The former is based on philosophy and logic and the latter is based on action and conduct. What I am trying to explain is that every tradition has its own philosophical position and its own code of conduct. There is not a single tradition in this world whose knowledge does not have a base in its conduct and vice versa. Not just Indian culture, even foreign traditions will reflect the same truth. Prophet Mohammad of Islamic religion has also propounded these two facets of life. Jesus Christ also stated the same in the Bible. The Taoist religious leader Laotse and the Chinese religious leader Confucius have given equal importance to knowledge and conduct.
I reiterate that human life is complete when knowledge is supported by conduct. One is meaningless without the other. Each one gives value to the other. If we want to tread the path of right conduct, we have to tread the path of non-violence and non-possessiveness. All religions have directly or indirectly propounded these ideals. They may be referred to differently. Whether termed as policy or love, service or brotherhood, an ethical way of life is what all religions propogate. It is the highest of all religions.
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