ISJS Transactions 2018 07 To 09 Vol 02 No 03

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 24

Ahimsā is understood as the foundational moral practice in the Vedic tradition, just as in Jainism. In the "Mahābhārata," the great Vedic epic, ahimsā is called the highest ethical virtue:
Ahinsa paramo dharmas tathāhimsā paro damah/ Ahimsā paramam dānam ahimsā paramas tapah// Ahimsā paramo yajñas tathāhismā param balam/ Ahimsā paramam mitram ahimsā paramam sukham/ Ahirsā paramar satyam ahimsā paraman sarutam/
Ahiṁsā: A World-Wide Practice ......17
The above passage emphasizes the cardinal importance of ahinsa in Hinduism, and literally means: "Ahimsa is the highest virtue, Ahimsa is the highest self-control, Ahimsa is the greatest gift, Ahimsa is the best suffering, Ahimsa is the highest sacrifice, Ahimsa is the finest strength, Ahimsa is the greatest friend, Ahimsa is the greatest happiness, Ahimsa is the highest truth, and Ahimsa is the greatest teaching."
The Vedic tradition is replete with other praises of ahimsā. Approximately 500-300 BC, the great yogi (contemplative saint) Patanjali de-emphasized the importance of yajñas (sacrificial fires) and instead named ahimsā as the supreme virtue in his Yoga Sūtra, and hundreds of years later (~450 CE), Sage Vyāsa explained that all of the other yamas (moral precepts) and niyamas (social contracts) in the Yoga Sūtra are rooted in ahimsā, and that they are expounded upon only for the purpose of promoting ahinsa. Two thousand years ago, the "weaver saint' of South India, Tiruvalluvar, discouraged the use of violence by the logic of karmic retribution: "Sorrow will come upon those who cause pain to others; therefore those, who desire to be free from sorrow, give no pen to others. Modern leaders of Hinduism have also upheld the significance of ahimsā. - Swami Vivekananda (Ramakrishna Mission) has declared that 'Oneness' includes all animals, and AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (ISKON) has extended the biblical ideal of 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' to all animals. 30
At a practical level, the application of ahimsā by followers of the Vedic traditions vary from tradition to tradition. However, most devout followers of the Vedas (called Hindus) practice a vegetarian lifestyle and avoid killing. The understanding of karmic retribution and recompense is a driving force in their practice, and learned Hindus know that those of the lower nature will slowly, eventually, over an experiential period of time, come into the higher nature, and that those of the higher nature, who have worked so hard to get there, should avoid the lower nature and not allow themselves to be caught up in it again. Thus, as much as possible, Hindus believe that it is unadvisable to harm beings at any stage of their journey.
Buddhism and Non-violence
Also a product of the Indian subcontinent, Buddhism is the most philosophically similar to Jainism out of the major world religions. Buddhism and Jainism both belong to the Sramanic traditions, which are also called the heterodox schools. Both uphold the beliefs of karma, samsāra, free will, māyā, and practices of asceticism." There is also similarity in the view that there is no Creator God or Godhead, but rather seekers follow the teachings of enlightened Spiritual Masters to reach the final goal of Liberation, called mokṣa in Jainism -- - - ! D. 1.11 . T. L 1 L. 1 1 .1 La L. 1.1.2: --- 10. 1 !.