JAINA Convention 2015 07 Atlanta GA

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

Page 91

AHINSA - A WAY OF LIVING WITH QUALITY by: Samani Charitra Prajna - Vice Chancellor JVB Institute
Ahinsa (Nonviolence) is the quintessence principle of Jain Philosophy. Ahinsa is a Sanskrit word that entails consideration of all souls as equal to our own soul, and compassion towards all forms of life without any discrimination based on categories. The concept is all
pervasive and gives the message of harmony and coexistence among all living beings for sustainable and peaceful living. All the Tirthankars (Omniscients) not only preached the significant principle of Ahinsa, but also practised it in its full sense throughout their lives, and thus became exemplars of Ahinsa. The 24th Tirthankar, Bhagwan Mahavir could perceive the micro level of the concept of Ahinsa and deliberately remarked that there is interrelation between violence
and possession (Parigraha). The more the possession,
the more the violence.
Possession can be defined as attachment and can be of many kinds such as attachment towards power, position, ideas, wealth, land, beliefs, religion etc. Unequal distribution of natural resources, unjustified, inhumane, and discriminative laws and ways of life, disparity among rich and poor, become the cause of eruption of violence in all sectors of life. It is obvious that nonviolence can only exist in society if we respect and honour each other's culture, custom, belief, tradition, and religion without interfering in their way of life, and leave behind the attitude of monopoly and dominance. This relates to the principle of 'Anekant' that speaks to the multitude nature of understanding the truth. Ahinsa, Aparigraha and Anekant give the message of co-existence and bring harmony in a diversified ethnic society.
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of spiritual path of Samani, I can understand the deeper sense of Ahinsa's meaning and practice. I am practicing the spiritual journey of Samani for the last 24 years, and with my experience, I can say that striving to be nonviolent through words, speech and mind 24/7, makes you aware and conscious of each and every action. Ideologically, it would be difficult for anybody to claim that he or she is completely nonviolent.
The level of Ahinsa I am talking about is about how to become nonviolent pragmatically in all walks of life. While observing the precept of Ahinsa, we contemplate on the following
1. Did I have a thought of dishonour towards any form of living beings, and not considered them as equal to my soul?
2. Did I opt for violent solutions for any actions? Did I have a thought of harming and subjugating anybody?
3.
4.
Did I act in retribution and responded aggressively? 5. Did I fail to keep equanimity in any situation, whether favourable or adverse?
6. Did I become intolerant while my seniors tried to discipline me?
7. Did I lose my patience and blamed others for my own mistakes?
8. Did I disrespected any seniors, and not been affectionate to juniors?
9. Did I Bragg ignoring others' value and importance? 10. Did I misbehave and used abusing words? 11. Did I try to hide my mistakes and acted with deceitfulness?
These sentences are very general in nature but focus on, the actions of emotions, mind, speech and body. These are the tools through which actions are performed. I have Being born in a Jain family and accepting the life experienced that every action brings up reaction. That
Jainism World of Non-Violence
reaction can be channelized positively or negatively. If I educate my consciousness to observe those actions in a positive sense, my emotions will not flare up and will only react in a constructive way. It is human nature that we always try to compare and compete with others and that becomes the cause of violent actions in any form depending upon the situations.
When I was very young, I used to perceive things in my own way and if certain things did not occur as I wished, I used to react in a negative way. It may be that such a state of mind sustains for a short period but it still damages the inner system of consciousness. It is the human mind that creates the problem and it is the same mind that brings solutions to any problems. Everything depends on how we educate and train our conscious mind and emotions. Our consciousness has immense power to tolerate and to overcome troubles by the practice of meditation and not complain for petty things. It made me understand that body and mind always want comfort zone and react immediately if it is not comfortable. Nothing is impossible; it only requires deep understanding, intense training and consistency in practice to overcome difficult phases of life.
We are social beings and live with people around us. Wherever there is more than one person, there will be differences of opinion, thought process, and working culture. If we understand each other's feelings and expectations, it would be easier to get along with peace, otherwise trivial things will create a rift between good relations. This can result in aggressive and violent exchanges. Hinsa takes birth in mind and then manifests through physical behaviour.
The irony is that without making any change in oneself, people expect that others to change. The truth is that we can change ourselves but not others. To make a change in oneself and the society, the only requirements are profound conviction, unshaken. determination, consistence in practice, and feeling of abundance of bliss within, to get rid of obstacles that come along the way. After all, we want that
everybody in this world should live in peace and harmony. Nobody wants pain, suffering, violence, and unhappiness. The golden rule is - If I do not like suffering, how will others like that? If I get hurt by doing this, others also feel the same. The feeling of oneness with all living beings will make this world a beautiful home for all of us. If we take care of nature, nature will take care of us. We exist because others
exist. Bhagwan Mahavir said - To deny the existence of others means denying the existence of oneself Gandhiji has rightly said that Truth is God and God is Truth. Bhagwan Mahavir explained in his teachings that Ahinsa and Truth are compliments to each other. By speaking truth, a man gets courage to act nonviolently. There are few basic reasons for telling a lie.
They are.
1. When someone is angry and does not try to see the reality
2. The fear of getting bad reputation because of his/ her unworthy actions
3. The power of greed to accumulate more wealth by deceiving someone
4.
To make fun of someone for the sake of amusement 5. Having no courage to face the challenges of real world
6. The duality of human personality by having differences in saying and doing
There can be exceptions in the practice of Ahinsa depending on the circumstances but there cannot be any exceptions in following the principle of Truth. Truth must be practiced in its wholeness. Once a person starts hiding the truth, it becomes his /her habit, and later turns into nature.
Although, the common understanding of the precept of Non-stealing is to not steal anybody's belonging and property, here, the precept of Non-stealing emphasizes on the message that if not practiced wholeheartedly, then it is a kind of stealing. It demonstrates honesty towards our own self. The virtue of honesty and humility are the basic ingredients of Ahinsa.
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