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and most eternal religion." The very first chapter of this ancient scripture details the causes and instruments of violence. The essence of Tirthankar Mahavir's thoughts on Ahimsa can be gauged in his following words - "You are the one whom you want to strike, you are the one on whom you wish to establish your command, you are the one which is in anguish, you are the one whom you want to kill. That is why a prudent person never strikes anyone, never establishes a command over others, never creates any anguish for others."
The seed of violence is first sown in thought, which then is followed in words and actions. That is why it is said, "war is born in the hearts of men". Acharya Umaswati says, 'Parasporopgraho Jivanam', which means that each living being lives because of mutual cooperation of each other's. The concept of Ahimsa enunciated by Tirthankar Mahavir is very comprehensive and includes all beings in it. It treats every living being with utmost equality and respects it the same way.
Mahatma Gandhi found Mahavir's concept of non-violence appealing after two thousand five hundred years and he proved the strength that it carried by applying it to all walks of his life. In 1946 he stood unarmed with compassion in his heart before a furious mob, which was carrying lethal weapons. The mob had to bow down before this 'Half-naked Fakir' as he was called. Non-violence had won while violence was defeated. Lord Mountbatton had said then, "What we could not accomplish by dispatching a full army brigade was accomplished single handedly by this one man, thereby saving the entire eastern side of the country from complete annihilation." One remembers Prof. S. R. Bhatt's statement in which he had said, "The seed of the thought that was sown some two thousand five hundred years before was reaped by Gandhi (The Thought of Ahimsa) as if there was an invisible link between Mahavir and Gandhi."
Violence is directly related to the craze for accumulation and possession, so that for the world of tomorrow exploitation and corruption would manifest themselves as new forms of violence. To obtain benefits by exploiting the poor, the weak, the downtrodden, the hapless is not only a manifestation of social injustice but it is one form of violence and deceit. Non-violence presupposes the coexistence of different religions, philosophies and thoughts, in peace with each other. The concept of non-violence and peaceful coexistence is the greatest gift to mankind by Jainism. The world today and the one that would follow hereafter need such glorious thoughts and feelings for each other. Jonathan Swift writes, 'We have just enough religion to make us hate but not enough to make us love one another.' If we accept the feelings expressed in this statement by this great thinker, we can cross all hurdles that are created by religious fundamentalism, religious intolerance etc. and can safely reach the objective of 'Religious fellowship'.
American leader Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt of the day when a man is known not by the color of his skin but by the strength of his character. To quote him verbatim, 'Not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the
14th Biennial JAINA Convention 2007
Jain Education International
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For Private & Personal Use Only
1
The five leading vows prescribed by the Jain philosophy begin with Ahimsa i.e. non-violence. Today
when the whole world is involved in widespread violence, it will have to heed
to the principle of non-violence with sincerity, devotion and respect more than what was shown to it in the past.
PEACE THROUGH DIALOGUE
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