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The advent of technology has enhanced significantly the impact and method of committing violence. We see its impact in the deaths of Nehru (sickness), Sanjay Gandhi in plane crash, Indira Gandhi was murdered in her own protected home and Rajiv Gandhi was murdered by suicide attackers. India (claim to be peaceful nation) spends enormous amount to protect its leaders and suffer losses due to terrorism and violence alone. In our present day world also, we can see that use of force to win a war or eliminate discord or differences in religious-political ideologies results in escalation of violence causing more miseries than reducing them (Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Indo-Pak troubles etc.). Some facts about violence are given below:
1. Violence affects the doer more than the victim. So even for our own selfish gains we
must observe non-violence. We can see enhanced cruelty in our thinking, anger and uneasiness all through our body and mind causing stress and associated problems. Once committed, the victim starts getting ready to take revenge and hence the himsaka has to be involved in amassing more violent tools and devices and becomes more and more engrossed in violence. Terrorism in various forms is the result of violence
committed by the state or the ones who are powerful. II. Ecology: Killing the five types of living beings i.e. those with air or water or fire or earth or
plant as their bodies, is called environment pollution. Even killing animals and other living
beings cause natural/ecological imbalances. III. Social ills: Girl child killing in the womb, use of cosmetics and leather products from
unborn and newly born animals, foods causing thousands of living beings getting killed for just one meal, class system dividing the society in low caste, middle casts or high castes etc on the basis of birth, race or colour are different ways of committing violence. Growing intolerance, selfishness are some of the social ills caused by enhanced violence
We thus see that violence affects individuals/societies/countries and the whole humanity resulting in total destruction. Violence has assumed ghastly dimensions with the advent of technology and hence necessitating the adoption of a Non-violent or non-killing society and the whole world.
3.0 Practicing Non-violence Jain resources for exploration of potentials for non-killing societies are abundant. At the core are spiritual, philosophical, scientific, social and other aspects of Jain thought and practice that can be and are being creatively adapted to promote non-killing conditions of 21st century life all over the world
9 Non-killing Global Political Science (2002) by Prof emeritus Glenn Paige Univ. of Hawaii
STUDY NOTES version 5.0
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