________________
Jaina Acāra : Siddhanta aura Svarupa
223
Mohammad Saheb was gifted with two kinds of knowledge. One he gave out in the Quran. The other he kept to himself which is Sufism which says that worldly things have to be given up to know and perceive God which is facilitated by treating Him as the loved one. When the aim was to grasp God, there was no question of violence or non-violence. Love is the panacea for all ills.
Guru Nanaka was the founder of Sikhism. It deals with the paths of action, Yoga, knowledge and devotion. Action may be binding or leading to salvation. Singing the glory of God is to elevate the spirit. It opposed Vedic ritualism. It is not enough to sacrifice, shave your head or sinear your forehead with sandal-paste. The good of all is necessarily governed by non-violence. Guru Govinda singh stressed love. Guru Arjundeva asked people to treat all as your own. Blood leaves a stain on cloth; so the mind becomes dirty by eating meat mixed with blood. The Sikhs never favoured war for the sake of war but they could never countenance injustice meted out to them. They are heroic people, believing in love and friendliness with all and sundry.
Saints even from the lowest class propagated love. They raised their voice against superstitious and blind traditions. They were opposed to casteism. They all opposed violence. Nayunūras, and Alawara from the south, Saivas from Karnātaka as also from Maharastra, Gujarat, Bengal and other norther states appeared on the scene. Their message was of love. To tease or trouble others for selfish good was outside their credo. They believed in one God and one soul. As such, everywhere there should be amity and concord. All this is bolstered by non-violence.
No other religion has made such a deep and searching study of non-violence as Jainism has done. Not only in the religious sphere but also in practical life as walking or speaking, non- violence should be reflected therein. Lord Mahāvīra rightly observed that the basis of the vision of life of even past and future savants is non-violence as earth is the substratum of all heings.
Everybody wants to live, even such as are bedridden and almost incurably diseased. None wants to die. As such, any attempt to kill others is irreligion. What you do not want be done to you must not be practised on others. Inside all bodies the soul is similar. Hence the feelings and emotions cannot be very different. He who hurts others, gets them thrashed or supports such misbehaviour adds only to lasting enmity. Such thoughts as this is mine and not yours creates a chasm. Not to treat others as you wish to be treated by them is violence. Non-violence is all love and harmony. The gitā says that he who looks on all as one, on the analogy of his own self, looking upon the pleasure and pain of all without any difference is a
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
