JAINA Convention 2015 07 Atlanta GA

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

Page 89

2015 JAINA Convention
Jainism World of Non-Violence
Non-possession: an ingredient for non-violent life style
by: Samani Maryada Pragya - Research scholar, JVBI, Ladnun.
Dvery living being
wishes to live in peace and happiness but the reality is that their actions do not bring contentment and happiness, no matter how hard they try. If we
look around we find that there are various problems at all levels of life, be it individual, group of nation in one form or the other
values but we are failing to realize them, because of our wrong belief that material possessions lead to happiness. The irony is that the short-lived comfort, accentuates our desire to have more and more. The net result is that this unrestrained desire is leading to more conflicts rather than resolving them. All these factors have compelled man to think and wonder when and where this increasing violence in the world will stop. In this context Non-violence assumes greater relevance.
prosperity. It fosters the thinking that everyone should become rich and prosperous. Once you become used to an improved standard of living there is no question of going back. Our paradigm changes to: We have to become rich, and indeed, richer. We have achieved some prosperity, now we have to become more prosperous. This objective is certainly alluring but the downside of it is that we become insensitive to the means applied to achieve the objective. The focus is on: material development, industrial development, technological development, per capita income, and high standard of living as the yardsticks of such an economy. In turn, such a system encourages unconstrained behavior because the primary measure of success for both individuals and corporations is growth in monetary terms. Consequently, it has made human more selfish and material and money oriented
Looking at present scenario, eminent thinker Acharya Mahapragya expressed his views on the so called strength and rare combination of Economics and Non-violence. He illuminated the relationship between society and nonviolence, individual and non-violence, environment and nonviolence. He opines that the problem of apprehension and worldwide conflicts are bound to aggravate if we have a lopsided growth of economic ideas, devoid of the aforesaid combination. We need to make fundamental reformation in our concept of economics, by giving it the solid foundation of non-violence
There exist some psychological problems, which arise from economic inequality and the consumerism; social problems and disintegration of society, which originates from conflicts of ideologies and faiths, political problems such as arms race, war and terrorism, and problems of human survival, which are linked to the excess production and ecological imbalance. The world is tom by tension, strife, crime and regional conflicts. The uncertainty of the future is causing a restless state of mind
Violence and its original source While talking about non-violence it is necessary to understand about violence because without eradication of the cause one cannot develop Non-violence. So, first of all we need to understand the meanings of violence and why the violence takes place? Violence means a behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone.
Non-violence a path for peace The core of Jain philosophy is Ahimsa (nonviolence) It is said "Ahimsa Paruno Dharma-non-violence is the supreme duty One who follows nonviolence follows all the other values indirectly. Nonviolence is a code of conduct and if practiced widely by all with full commitment it will lead to sustainable world and peaceful living The basic condition is that all, that is, an individual, family, society and the nation, must embrace it An aphorism given by Lord Mahavira - ahimsa savabhuwakemamkari", means "Ahimsa promotes the good of all living beings."
sire for possession, prich bei
There is a relentless effort being made by the individuals, communities, and social and political leaders to find solutions to these problems. They believe that scientific research and technological advances, nuclear weapons and improved war technology, consolidation of power and acquisition of material possessions, and concentrating on their own religious and ethnic groups will provide solutions to these problems. No doubt, scientific and technological advances have made human life pleasant and luxurious, but that feeling is short lived. Nevertheless, it has not provided peace of mind. Instead, there is exponential rise in stress, alienation, restlessness, anger, pugnacity, hatred, aggression, lack of concern or feeling for others, tension, resulting in violence.
Lord Mahavira said one of the basic traits of human being is "parigraha", the spirit of possession, the mentality of accumulation, acquisitiveness. According to Dasvaikalika this moorcha i.e. attachment, is the original source of violence. It is the attachment, which gives birth to the desire for possession, ownership and occupation, Accumulation is an expression of one's greedy attitude and greediness is the main cause of all sins. It is rightly said, as man goes on gaining, greediness too goes on increasing. This greediness is the main cause of bondage. Thus there is a direct relationship between attachment and acquisition and violence. The instinct for ownership leads to acquisition and which in turn leads to violence. Thus it confirms that the root cause of violence is purigrala
Money has its own utility, therefore economie development cannot be overlooked. But when we observe that in every sphere of the life there is increased rate of violence and crimes, it makes us wonder whether we are on the right path. Additionally, we see the gap between the rich and the poor widening There is an excess rise in poverty, hunger, corruption, exploitation, pollution, environmental degradation and ecological imbalance. There is also fall in human values, spiritual values, and ethical values. The root cause of all these problems is man's insatiable desire to cam more, spend more, and increase the standard of living. Our past history shows that all the wars and violence were for the desire of power and possession At a country level the data shows that India has such a large number of people below the poverty line that it ranks third in the world. Today, ever growing crime ratio is a big question against modern economy which plans for only economic growth and leaves aside the aim of human well-being. Every five seconds a child less than 5 years old dies because of hunger, This too proves that man's unconstrained desires for fulfillment of ever increasing monetary goals not only leads to disparities between the rich and the poor but also a significant increase in violence.
View non-violence and non-possession together
Lord Mahavira propounded that violence and possessiveness or non-violence and nonpossessiveness goes together. They are the two sides of the same coin. There is a direct relationship between the two. Together, they lead us to social welfare and world peace. Lord Mahavira had laid down the yow of absolute Non-violence and Non possession for ascetics. He knew that it was not possible for a householder to refrain completely from possession and give up complete violence, so he propounded the principle of small vows. One is to practice the vow with self-restrain and self-control. In this context Acharya Mahapragya emphasized that before "Ahimsa Parmo Dharma the slogan of "Aparigrha Parmo Dharma is more relevant to the modem society to resolve the violence.
Present scenario of the world and need of nonviolence Modern economy is known as the economics of
We talk a lot about higher moral, social and spiritual
176