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Jainism : The Cosmic Vision Sadhu emanates from these vows and out of these, the foremost is non-violence.
Ahimsa, non-violence, has been the sheet-anchor of Jainism. Ahimsa is one of the basic virtues. No where else in the other religious traditions, this basic virtue has been so scientifically, scrupulously and thoroughly integrated with the main doctrine. Jainism is the only tradition which has consistently allowed this tenet soak into the very essentials of its teachings and practices. This singular uncompromising emphasis on Ahimsa is the special and exclusive feature of Jainism. In Jainism, Ahimsa is not mere human sympathy; it is empathy, the urge to identify oneself completely with other persons, other living beings and with the whole universe.
Bhagwan Mahavira said, "If you kill someone, it is yourself you kill. If you overpower someone, it is yourself, you overpower. If you torment some one, it is yourself, you torment. If you harm someone, it is yourself, you harm." A wise man knows this and so he does not kill, nor does he overpower or torment anyone.
The heart of Jainism is non-violence. Positively stated, Jainism is a religion of compassion, universal love and friendliness. It aims at the welfare of all living beings and not of humans alone. It maintains that living beings are infinite, all so called empty spaces in the universe are filled with minute living beings. According to it, there are countless single-sense organisms that take the subtlest possible units of material elements - earth, water, fire and air - as their bodies. Fresh earth is alive, but when it is baked, it becomes dead. Fresh water from a well is alive, but when it is boiled or influenced by mixing
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