JAINA Convention 2015 07 Atlanta GA

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 80

2015 JAINA Convention
Jainism World of Non-Violence
Nonviolence: A Survival in to the Third Millennium
Samani Rohit Pragya Asst. Professor, Dept. of lainology and Comparative Religion and Philosophy Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun TA7e are living in a scriptures it is equated with deity and is described VV world of chronic as the protector of the whole universe. The Jain text conflicts and in constant Acharang Sutra Sutra says "all beings love their lives. dread of war. The alarming All like pleasure and dislike pain so do not injure dilemma of the present any being. The simplest rule of non-violence is scenario, terrorism hasw hatever you desire for your self desire for others and taken a slobal shape whatever you do not desire for yourself, do not desire Morality and spirituality the same for others. According to Gandhi, ahinsa is not have disappeared from the just a matter of not killing. It is a positive state of love.
society. Violence in various in its positive aspect ahinsa means sanctity of life and forms has become the order of the day. The 20th universal love for all living creatures. Century will be remembered for sthastly wars, racial frenzy, untold human sufferings and hatred. It was Non-violence provides rule to survive. The text believed that the 21st Century would usher in an era
Tattvarthsutra says "Parasparopapraho jeevanam of peace and happiness but the hope was belied in which means all life is bound together by mutual the first decade of the century itself. In just ten years support and interdependence. Hence the directive of the third millennium, incidents like collapse of the principle of living is not 'Living on others' or 'Living blazing world trade towers, attack on Virginia tech by killing' but 'Living with others' or 'Live for Campus, the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, unabated others.' If civilization is to survive, future belongs to killings in the Middle East and the terrorist strikes nonviolence. But the eulogy of Nonviolence is only in ditterent parts of India like Delhi, Bangalore, selfish endeavor. The solution in this world of intellect Bombay, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and many more places, is not to verbalize, popularize, scripturalize but to have alarmed the human mind universally. Incident praticalize. Until practice is not followed, intellectual of shooting classmates, teachers and parents by effort will be like running behind the bush with no teenagers, communal violence and ever increasing results. The world needs today an application of the violence at family level disappointed peace and non- unique Jain doctrine ahinsa. violence crusaders alike. But in this violence filled century people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther At present, concentrated attempts are made to train King and Nelson Mandela gave us the hope that a people in the use of arms. There is education in new beginning is possible, a beginning of lasting Military Science in the Universities and there is peace all over the world. They proved that, there National Cadet Corps to train the youths in the may be a competition for weapons of superiority, modern warfare but there is hardly any scope for but nothing is superior to non violence. In this age imparting peace, educating conflict resolution and of science and technology we mly need the "non conflict prevention. Every year billions of dollars violence as the weapon" for the survival of mankind. are spent on amassing armaments and destructive
weapons. If we really want to establish a peaceful Nonviolence is pure, etemal and universally accepted society, there should be training in non-violence moral value. "No living being should be killed" is an too. It can only be a right effort to achieve the aim essenceof the knowledge of allenlightened persons. All of global peace. Training in non-violence means the thinkers of humanity and the founders of religious training to remove causes of violence, Violence and orders universally accepted it as a core principle of Nonviolence are results and not cause. A cause can be human conduct and cardinal religious virtue. In lain ended, can be transformed, but a result can neither be
effaced, nor transformed. Therefore to bring the non- Today the whole world is reeling with fear. Nations violence, we should think wwer the source of violence are afraid of one another and so are different and eradicate these causes which originate violence, sections of society. Non-violence cannot be firmly
established until people's fear can be eliminated. It Original Source of Violence
is not easy to be completely free from passions. But There are many factors behind the rise of violence and it is possible to replace negative and immoral values immoral behavior. Imbalance in social organization, with twitive and moral values. The only way to Imbalance in the political system, the armaments arrest the increasing trend of crime and violence is race, caste and color discrimination, communalism, to give proper training in non-violence. imbalance in human relationships, economic rivalry and poverty etc are the external causes of violence. All Peace through Training in Non-violence: The most these external causes are raised by the internal causes important principle of training in nonviolence is such as exo, greed, fear, anger, sorrow, sex desire etc. the purification of emotions. Acharya Mahaprajna
provided an effective tool known as Preksha Ego: Ego separates the 'me' from the 'not me', 'us Meditation technique of meditation for attitudinal from them.ours from theirs. It begins in the change, emotional purification behavioral thought that I am superior, my needs must come modification and integrated development of before others, my religion, my ideology is the best, personality. The system of Preksha Meditation and I am the lord of all, so everyone else is here to includes various techniques like Relaxation, Deep conform to my bidding. This spirit of ego gives the breathing and contemplation (Positive thinking like birth to intolerance and creates many social problems fearlessness, tolerance, compassion etc.) which brings like casteism; color discrimination etc. The problem about bis-chemical and bio-electrical change in the of ego and intolerance ultimately take the form of body. Through such practices it is possible convert Violence. Religious intolerance is the greater cause the tremendous negative force into a powerhouse of violence. More blood has been shed; more bones of peaceful, loving energy. And it each individual Wrenched, more cries of anguish wrung from the powerhouse of this lowing energy unites what can tortured, and more wars mounted in the name of counter its immense force of serenity and love? Even religious intolerance than from any other cause. if there is one duly trained nonviolent person for
every one hundred trained soldiers, a new miracle Possession and Attachment One of man's basic can be performed and arw order can be created. traits is the spirit of possession, the mentality of accumulation, acquisitiveness. This constitutes 1 an individual brings change in his own life the original source of violence. There is intimate through practice the same will affect society. In relationship between possession and violence, the words of Acharya Tulsi "Sudhare vyakti samaj Man with excess possessions cannot lead moralvvakti se, rashtra svayam sudharega." It means, if life because the possessions themselves are made the conduct of an individual will be improved, the through immoral and violent means. Greed and whole society will be improved. True peace begins attachment cause the centralization of power and with the individual. There is need to do a revolution concentration of wealth in a few hands. And where It does not matter much that how many people there is centralized money and power, it is worthless involves themselves in this revolutionary work of to speak of nonviolence, morality and peace.
making a peaceful society because a small group of
people or a single person can do a revolution in the Fear: Fear is the prime mover of violence. It is the field of morality and bring changes in the society attachment that causes fear and which in turn results and nation. It is always a small group of committed in violence Fear of losing what one is attached to is people whose tireless efforts have brought changes the basic fear and it creates many other kinds of fear to the world. Let me conclude by quoting Margret Fear of the enemy leads to the unending race for more Mead "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, and more deadly weapon systems and the degree committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it and possibility of violence increase correspondingly. is the only thing that even has."
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