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prominent place in Gandhi's reading books." The Jain slogans 'Live and let live' and 'Living beings help each other'90 resonate almost in every Jain celebration and religious congregations. Jain concept of Ahimsa is based on the premise 'there is no enemy' versus 'love thy enemy'. Dr. Radha Vinod Paul (Ex judge International Tribunal for trying the Japanese War criminals) said:
If anybody has any right to receive and welcome the delegates to any Pacifists Conference, it is the Jain community. The principle of Ahimsa, which alone can secure world peace, had indeed been the special contribution to the cause of human development by Jain Tirthankaras, and who else would have the right to talk of world peace than the followers of the great sages Lord Parshwanath and Lord Mahavira.
Gandhi himself called Mahavira as the foremost preacher and votary of Ahimsa.
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We now analyze Ahimsa of Jainism and its impact on Gandhi's perception and practice of Ahimsa.
Ahimsa in Jainism
The directive principle of living is not 'Living on others', or 'Living by killing', but 'Living with others' as enunciated by Mahavira" given below:
"The Arhats and Bhagvats of the past, present, and future, all say thus, speak thus, declare thus, explain thus: all breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away, This is the pure unchangeable, eternal law, which declared: among the zealous and not so zealous, among the faithful and not so faithful, among the cruel and not so cruel, among those who have worldly weakness and those who do not have, among those who like social bonds and those who do not; 'that is the truth, that is so, that is proclaimed in this creed. Having
Pg.158 Gandhi & Jainism
