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based on ahiinsä and that of wrong conduct and sin is based on himsă or violencet. It is true that there is no sin greater than violence and no religion greater than ahimisă in this world. There is no sign of religion more appropriate than ahimsā". In my humble opinion the only yardstick of the validity of various religions in the world is the importance given to ahirsā by them". If we think of Jainism in this context we can say without any doubt that Jainism has not only given importance to ahimsa in terms of attitude and conduct but has also provided profound analysis and elaboration of the concept of ahimsā. So much so that Jain philosophy has evolved into what may be called ahimsa philosophy
In the field of Jain religious thought the concept of ahimsā originated as non-indulgence in destruction of life. It evolved to provide rational solutions to problems rising in every walk of life and created an atmosphere of equality of all life forms. With the concept of universal fraternity it reached its pinnacle. This is the ultimate evolution of ahirisă and the philosophy of equality of all beings with the self". Jainism has stipulated steps of conduct to progress to this level of the philosophy of equality and every conduct is exclusively based on ahiinsä". Jainism has not confined ahimsā to idealism but has given it a practical and applied form.
All said and done, what is known as Jainism is just a form of ahimsā or a distinctive name. Deprived of ahimsā Jainism would probably loose its unique identity as a religion, philosophy, and doctrine. This statement is as near the truth as another statement that if ahinsä were removed from Jainism, the philosophies with an organized form of ahimsā would be scarce.
This is the only yardstick for examining the place of ahimsā in Jainism.
CAUSE OF HIMSĀ
It is necessary to ponder over the question - what is the cause of violence? The need for this contemplation is felt because often, similar actions culminate in varying results. For example, a surgeon operates a patient. The surgeon wishes that the operation is successful but in spite of all his sincere efforts the patient dies.
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