________________
Jainism: The Cosmic Vision
unfulfilled dream. Any system based on one's own selfish interests, harms others, interests and this will result in conflict of interests and violent clashes. A system based on the principle of non-violence always protects the interests of other nations. Narrow outlook, desire to exploit and establish hegemony are the chief causes of one nation attacking another nation. If these are removed, the question of invading another country will not arise.
If a nation is at all attacked, it has the right to defend itself and has to decide to what extent non-violence will be desirable. But a nation that believes in non-violence should not indulge in wholesale violence to defend itself and see to it that minimum of human lives are lost; and that there is no mass killing. At the time of the last world war, Gandhi had issued direction as to how to deal with the aggressor countries. It is a duty to defend one's own country, but there must be a limit to what extent one should go to defend oneself. The destruction of another country should not be, in any case, the intention, said Gandhi. It is clear that he had a clear vision of what warring countries should do and his views on non-violence, even during war or conflict are clear-cut.
Gandhi also advocated practising non-violence at the individual level as well as in social and family life. Lets' not harm even the tiniest creature, he said; Jain philosophy says parigraha - possessiveness - is the mother of violence. Gandhi also said the same thing. One, who hoards things more than required, resorts to violence. What is, therefore, needed is selfrestraint and a sense of sacrifice coupled with compassion. Man must realise that there are other means - not violence - through which man can overcome his innate weaknesses and evils lying buried deep into consciousness. This was Gandhi's message to
Jain Education International
172
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
