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JULY, 1987
ment is vanished, the human mind will be free from mental tensions and emotional disorders. For this Jainism preaches the vow of camplete nonpossession for the ascetics and the vow to limit ones own possession for the householders, which are technically called as aparigraha-mahāvrata and parigraha-parimāņa-vrata respectively,
Non-Violence or Regard for Life
Samatā or equanimity is a personal or inner aspect of our religious life, when it is applied in the social life or it is practised outwardly, it becomes non-violence. Thus non-violence is a social or outer aspect of our religious life. In Acārānga Lord Mahavira gives another definition of religion. He remarks
“The worthy men of the past, present and the future all say thus, speaks thus, declare thus, explain thus : all breathing, existing, living and sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented. This is the pure, eternal and unchangeable law or the tanet of religion."9 In other words, non-violence is the eternal and pure form of religion. In Jainism non-violence is the pivot on which its whole ethics revolves. For Jainas violence represents all the vices and non-violence represents all the virtues. Non-violence is not a single virtue but it is a group of virtues. In Praśnavyäkarana-sūtra the term non-violence is equated with sixty virtuous qualities, just as peace, harmony, welfare, trust and fearlessness, etc.10 Thus non-violence is a wider term, which comprehends all the good qualities and virtues.
The concept of non-violence and the regard for life is accepted by almost all the religions of the world. But none of the religions observes it so minutely as Jainism, Jainism prohibits not only killing of human beings and animals but of the vegetable kingdom also. To hurt the plants is also an act of violence or himsā. It's basic principle is that the life, in whatever form it may be, should be respected, we have no right to take another's life, because every one wants to live as we do. The Daśavaikālika mentions that everyone wants to live and not to die, for this simple reason, Nigganthas prohibit violence.11 It can be said that the Jaina concept of non-violence is extremist and not practical, but we cannot challenge its relevance for human society. Though Jainism sets its goal as the ideal of total non-violence, external as well as internal, yet the realisation of
Acaranga, 1/4/1/127. 10 Prasnayyakarana-sutra, 2/1/21. 11 Dasavalkalika-sutra, 6/10.
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