________________
Jainism: The Cosmic Vision by human beings. The Jain religion and philosophy steadfastly emphasise the integrity and totality of life. It has a holistic view towards life. It is a religion that teaches assimilation and not division. Hence a member of the family and an employee of the shop - both must be treated on par. Today the man in the temple and the man elsewhere have become two separate entitites, different from each other. That is why to integrate the two separate personalities into a single, undivided one, we will have to inculcate the spirit of Ahimsa among the people the world over.
If Ahimsa saves ants, small and big ones, it should not kill man. Otherwise, it would be paradoxical. It would not be acceptable that one, who treats the members of the family with affection, does not do so in the profession. A woman, who is a kind mother at home, cannot be thought to be cruel outside. The practice of Ahimsa should not be limited to the four walls of home, it should be allowed to spread far and wide covering all walks of our life. It should be accompanied by love and compassion for all. Bhagwan Mahavira extended it to cover even the most poisonous snakes who are always ready to strike and bite even without any provocation.
Violence is directly related to the craze for accumulation and possession, so that in the world of tomorrow exploitation and corruption would manifest themselves as new forms of violence. To obtain benefits by exploiting the poor, the weak, the downtrodden, the helpless is not only a manifestation of social injustice, but it is one form of violence and deceit. Nonviolence presupposes the coexistence of different religions, philosophies, thoughts and minds in peace with each other.
Towards A Truly Global Society That is why Santbalji has said, 'It is the Jain religion which has given to the world such precious gifts as non-violent culture and the thought of peaceful coexistence. The world today and the one that would follow need such thoughts and feelings. Jonathan Swift at one place writes, 'We have just enough religions to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another. If we accept the feelings expressed in this statement by this great writer, we can cross all hurdles that are created by religious fundamentalism, religious intolerance etc. and can safely reach the objective of 'Religious fellowship'. As terrorism in various forms is spreading its tentacles all around, the world can still be saved with the help of the cult of non-violence. It is from this cult of non-violence that the fragrance of truth, celibacy, non-possessiveness and non-stealing can be spread. We should not forget that the foundation of all this was actually laid by Tirthankara Mahavira centuries before.
The Jain philosophy and thinking on diet have its roots in the practice of non-violence. Diet is closely connected with our mind and its processes. Our food habits have a great impact on our mind and thought; that is why we are asked to keep a vigilant eye on them. It has thrown significant light on the benefits of fasting and on simple food habits. Their importance has now been accepted even in the sphere of health and physical fitness, Nature cure is the first step in that direction. Even Ayurved acknowledges its importance. In the Jain religion, there is a common practice of fasting for days together at a time. Even in the West, patients are made to fast for go days at a stretch to cure them from certain diseases. Dr. Kerington opines, "Fasting gives inner strength to the heart. If one wants the heart to be strong, the best way to achieve it is by fasting, for, on the
