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globalisation we want. What we want is the globalisation of love, of nonviolence and peace.
In non-violence we all live together and depend on each other. When we are violent to others, we are violent to ourselves. When we are attacking others, we are attacking ourselves. Non-violence is not a matter of convenience. I will talk to my friend - but can I talk to my enemy? Can ! talk to people who are in disagreement with me? Can I ask them: "Why are you so angry? What have I done to you, my brothers and sisters, that you are ready to kill yourself? Have I damaged you in any way? Have I offended you?" It is very easy for a strong country like the United States to go and bomb a weak country. But talking to the enemy requires real strength and courage.
individuals and parties spend millions of dollars to gain power. But Mahavir was born to rule. He was given the opportunity to do good by governing and controlling others. Yet, he renounced power, wealth and the material world. Goodness, virtues, service, compassion and peace cannot be imposed from top down. These qualities have to grow from the bottom of our hearts, everyone's heart. So Mahavir advocated spiritual democracy. He worked for social change through personal purification and transformation of the soul. By renouncing political power he gained spiritual power. There is a powerful lesson here for modern democracies which have become power-hungry and corrupt. So much is their concern for power that it must be maintained at any cost and defended with weapons of mass destruction and other violent means. Mahavir teaches us to serve rather than to rule.
many truths. It is like the great Garden of Eden, the humanity and the world are diverse - we have the black people, the white people, the yellow people, the dancing people, the smiling people, the tall people and the small people. Similarly, there are other living beings that walk, crawl, swim or fly. This is biodiversity. Twenty-six centuries ago Mahavir celebrated the diversity of life, diversity of truth and diversity of philosophy. We must not narrow it down in some kind of dogmatic ideology,
Let us move forward. Let us see how ahimsa and anekanta can be guiding principles for the twenty-first century, not just a luxury for the few but guiding principles for all..
Mahavir is a super example of nonviolence. He grew up as a prince. He had all the power, wealth and comfort. But he decided to leave these things behind and go with a begging bowl. There is a great message in this renunciation of power and affluence for us and for the world. The modern democracies encourage us to seek power. It is believed that only through acquisition of political
power can we help others. Therefore, Jain Education International
Now the Jains have to wake up. We have been sleeping for too long and keeping non-violence to ourselves as if it were too precious to keep it confined. We need to communicate the message of non-violence actively in political, social and ecological domains. In Jain tradition, ahimsa and anekanta (multiple truths) go together, like two legs of a human being. There is no one truth but
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Satish Kumar is the founding Chairman of Jain Spirit and editor of Resurgence magazine. The above article is an edited extract from 'Ahimsa, Anekanta and Jainism', edited by Tara Sethia, Motilal Banarsidass, 2004.
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