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Jaina Acara: Siddhanta aura Svarupa
For want of pity man becomes demoniacal. Tulasīdāsa says that it is the root of Dharma. Kabira talks of their co-existence. The king Megharatha sacrificed his life to protect a pigeon which Dharmaruci did for the protection of ants. These are the positive aspects of non-violence. Fear spoils life. Fearlessness imparts a glitter to it, Gautama wanted to know from Lord Mahāvīra, whether repetition of his name is superior to serving the poor and distressed. The Lord replied that those who merely repeat the name are not true devotees. The best ones are those who act up to his instructions. Non-violence is perfect co-ordination between interest in secular affairs and resignation or detachment from them. He who advocates detachment exclusively does not even touch the fringe of non-violence. The minor virtues of an ascetic are self-realisation and self-control. The first is secular whereas the second is renunciatory. The spirit of non-violence resides in abstinence from evil and absorption in the good.
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Pt. Sukhapala has rightly observed, "A study of Asoka's reign reveals that he was both secular and spiritual. He got inns constructed, wells dug, trees planted and other things for the welfare of his subjects. It is good not to indulge in violence but without compassion and sympathetic understanding of the problem of the people non-violence is not perfected. If you see a lunatic or a beggar in your way and you avoid them it is degrading selfishness and a blot on humanity. This is no observance of non-violence. You should find out what their ailments or difficulties are, since your duty is to render all possible help to them with a view to reclaiming them. The soul is important but without a fit body its rise is impossible. Both secular and spiritual interests are to be watched without any undue emphasis on any one of the two. Man is indebted to society. He can and should repay the debt in doing social good disinterestedly.
The Jainas are saturated with the spirit of non-violence which should be manifested from their activities and behaviour. Dasavaikalika states that a monk should not scoop or bore the live earth. He should not accept alms if the hand of the giver is smeared with live sand, alkali, asafoetida or contained in a spoon. He should be no less cautious in taking his seat so as not to kill any earth-body. He should use lifeless ground for his faeces, urine, phlegm etc. He should not touch a body or cloth wet with live water. He must not wring his cloths, nor dry them in the sun. Cold water should be treated as a taboo. He should drink water that after being heated has become lifeless. A monk must not burn, rub or extinguish fire, ember, cowdung cake, the husk or chaff of grain, bran, straw, flame separated from fire, half-burnt wood, fire without fuel, fire in the sky etc. Air- bodies are also protected by flappers, fans etc. He should also not whiff from the mouth. He does not sit, walk or lie on plants. If somebody were to give him something by crushing vegetation, it becomes unacceptable. Looking at
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