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Jainism: The Cosmic Vision
In Jain philosophy, Ahimsa is said to be the supreme religion and Himsa is considered to be source of all evils and of all miseries. Ahimsa is not limited to not harming the human beings, it extends to all living beings. This philosophy believes in the unity of life and regards all living beings as equal. He, who can be cruel to animals, can be cruel to human beings, too. Further, cruelty is not only an aspect of external behaviour, but it is also an inner evil tendency. He, who is cruel at heart, will behave cruelly towards animals as well as human beings. He, who is compassionate at heart, will behave compassionately towards all. Moreover, the jain religion believes in the cycle of birth and rebirth. The soul is in one Yoni (existence) today; it may be in another Yoni tomorrow. It may be a fly today and a human tomorrow. This being so, man has no right to harm other living creations. One should behave sympathetically towards all, friends as well as foes. In fact there should be no enemy. Such is the importance of Ahimsa in Jain philosophy. तुंग न मंदराओ आगासओ विसालयं नत्थि । जह तह जयंमि जणसु, धम्म अहिंसा समं नत्थि ।।
[Nothing is higher than the Meru mountain; nothing is vaster than the sky. Similarly, there is no better religion than Ahimsa.]
It is one of the tenets of Jainism that all living beings desire life and not death. No one has the right to take away the life of any other being; to kill a living being is the greatest of all the sins. Life is dear to everyone, and we must have respect for life. Not only "Live and Let Live", but "Live and Help Others Live" should be our principle. Just as the head of a family looks after the welfare of the members of the family, a human being, who enjoys the highest place in the evolution of life, should look after the welfare of other lower orders of creations.
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