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Jainism: Through Science
about this school of thought, he becomes absolutely selfish. When a group of such persons gains the ascendancy, the principle of ahimsa disppears from the sector. Sometimes such a person begins to hate the relations of samsar and takes a fancy to a monk's life. But no man can live in isolation. Man is a social animal. For necessities of life, he has to depend on the society of men. In theory a man may believe that all the relations of samsar are fake and false but in practice he will have to keep relations with samsår. Under the influence of this school of thought he may keep himself mentally aloof from the relations of samsar. In that case he may not be infatuated with samsar and may be relieved of one cause of karmic bondage. And this precisely is the achievement in the life of those, who belong to this school of thought.
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There is another school of thought, which teaches us to deal with all living beings as ourselves.3 This is possible only if we are able to feel the miseries suffered by all living beings. If such an ideology runs through the veins of a man, he never thinks that this is mine and that is yours. He regards not only all human beings but also all living beings as himself. This sort of person is annoyed by miseries of any living being. He can know their miseries, if he has relations with all living beings. The man who belongs to this school of thought has to keep relations with not only human beings but also all animals, even plants and trees, earth-bodied, water-bodied, fire-bodied and air-bodied organisms. He has to think of their pains and pleasures. Those who belong to this school of thought do their best for the welfare of all living beings. They always try to make them happy and are on their guard to see that they are not even mentally annoyed. This pricisely is the important base of the principles of Jain philosophy. This precisely is the essential ahimsa.
In Jain philosophy, we find both these ideologies and they both are regarded as equally important. Man is the most thoughtful and reflective animal in the whole universe and man alone is capable of spiritual and material progress. Philosophers have spread out these two ideologies. So that man may not be disappointed in miseries and dissipated in happiness. When he is in a miserable condition, surrounded by what is not desired and deprived of what
