Int Jain Sangh NJ 2003 04 Mahavir Jayanti

Author(s): Int Jain Sangh NJ
Publisher: USA International Jain Sangh IJS

Page 19

WAR AND DISARMAMENT*
-Acharya Mahaprajna
The Lord was a source of the perennial stream of non-violence. To him all violence was unpardonable. His world was immaculate of the toxins of war, enmity and discord. An individual being inimical to another was inconceivable to him. In reply to the aggressive values pertaining in that era, ("You live in heaven posthumously, if you fall in the battlefield and enjoy the spoils of the conquest if you survivor.") His response was, "Aggression is infernal. Ye self! Fight with your (baser) counterpart. To what avail these external wars?"
A virtuous existence warrants such non-violent faith. No doubt, there are many who are not inspired by such ideals. There are myriads who place reliance on war, invasion and usurping another's right. They remain unmoved by the sermon of fighting with their own baser self. To such materially blessed beings, the Lord exhorted: "Be not aggressive. Retaliation is equally violent. Violence is succumbing to the external conditions of which we are essentially free.
A war waged as a retaliatory measure is equally demoniac. Such is the terminable chain of armament that one weapon is met with another. The successive weapons are still more devastating. To man is due an awareness of this fact and an abnegation of these temptations to effect a total disarmament. This is the way to peace and no other. If humanity chooses to opt for peace, it has got to subscribe to this ideology sooner or later.
(*Extracted from the book "Lord Mahavira" by Muni Nathmal, original name of the author, published by Adarsh Sahitya Sangh, Churu, Rajasthan, India in 1971. He is successor to Acharya Shri Tulsi of the religious order of the Jain Shwetambar Terapanth.
......
.................
...............
"Adjustment is an art. Its practice is very difficuilt. Two people staying together and adjusting with each other is a telling sutra in mental peace. But differences in tastes, thinking and process of working breaks the chain of adjustments. Those people are artists who are able to look for compatibility within points of differences and thus keep the adjustment unhurt"
"Some people do not know how to resolve issues, they get entangled in them. What is the reason for this? Must be due to either some inferiority complex or short sightedness. There definitely is some reason. If there is alertness while doing our duty, problems are fewer. Sometimes one should rise above the need to work for self aggrandizement alone, and inspired by a feeling of responsibility, indulge in selfless work. This is an easy way to disentangle yourself in life.".... Acharya Mahaprajna
Jain Education Intemational 2010_03