________________
of all virtues and religion. All the limbs of religion have their origin in ahimsā. Ahimsā is the essence of religion. Ultimately, ahimsā is soul.23
AHIMSĀ OF A HOUSEHOLDER
Now comes a practical problem - can a householder observe the said Parabrahma (ultimate or absolute) form of ahiṁsā? A householder is not all-renouncer. He has various household responsibilities. He has his own limitations and distinct features. Therefore, he can only observe ahiṁsā in its limited forin. In context of ahiinsā he has many problems. For example: 1. As a householder he has to light fire, sweep floor, and do many other such household chores. All these involve harm to living organisms. 2. Every means of his livelihood entails some violence irrespective of its being an industry, trading, or a job. 3. There are times when he faces predicaments like a rogue or antisocial element assaulting the modesty of his mother or sister; a thief or bandit daring to deprive him of his wealth, invading armies wanting to harm or enslave his country. In such predicament what is the duty of a person who is observing partial ahiinsä and not the absolute one. 4. What is our duty in such situation when we get prepared to kill or kill a being intentionally?
The Jain sages had a clear and wide perspective. They gave the concept of ahimsā a logical and practical shape. Based on four kinds of problems they classified ahimsā into four categories - 1.Ārambhi (accidental), 2. Udyogi (occupational), 3. Virodhi (protective), and 4. Sarnkalpi (deliberate). Of these four a lay Jain completely avoids the deliberate violence as a rule. He does not deliberately harm any being but the remaining three are unavoidable in his situation. However, he does his duty sagaciously and takes care to avoid harm to beings as far as possible.
It is pertinent here to explain the protective ahimsā in little more detail. Under the influence of their communal bias some scholars have misinterpreted the Jain concept of ahiṁsā without any proper study of Jain scriptures. In their history books they have written that Jain ahimsā was responsible for India's defeat by foreign invaders. Also
that Jain ahimsā made the country weak and impotent. There can , probably be no greater historical aberration than this. These historians fail to produce even a single historical evidence when a Jain king
112
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
