Jain Journal 2010 07

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 10

10
JAIN JOURNAL VOL-XLV, NO. I-IV JULY.-JUNE 10-11
of security among fellow beings. In Sutrakṛtanga, it is clearly mentioned that there is nothing higher than the sense of security. Which a human being can give to others. The virtue of fearlessness is supreme. It is two-fold (1) one should not fear from others and (2) one should not cause fear to others. A real Jaina saint is one who is free from fear and enmity. When the fear vanishes and enmity dissolves there is no need for armaments. Thus the sense of security and accumulation of arm and weapons are related to each other. Though arms and weapons are considered as means of security, yet these, instead of giving security, generate fear and a sense of insecurity in the opposite party and hence a mad race for accumulation of superior weapons starts. Lord Mahavira has seen this truth centuries before that there is no end to this mad race for weapons. In Acaranga (4th cent B.C.) he proclaimed "atthi satthampawnaparam natthiasaitharhparenapararh" i. e. there are weapons superior to each other, but nothing is superior to asastra i.e. disarmament or nonviolence'. It is the selfish and aggressive outlook of an individual or a society that gives birth to war and violence. They are the expression and outcome of our sick mentality. It is through firm faith in mutual credibility and nonviolence that humanity can get rid of this mad race for nuclear weapons and thus can solve the problem of its survival. The Problem of War and Violence :
At the root of all types of wars and violence there lies, the feeling of discontentment as well as the will for power and possession. According to Sutrakrtanga, the root of violence is attachment or will for possession. A book namely "Tension that causes war" tells us that economic inequalities, insecurities and frustrations create group conflicts. It is true that in the old days the cause of war was only will for power and possession, whether it was the possession of women or land or money. But now-a-days economic inequality, overpopulation, sense of insecurity and unequal treatment on the basis of caste, creed and colour may be added to the causes of war. Jaina
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