________________
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
A Joumey of Ahimsa humanity and he succeeded in his experiment not only with truth but with non-violence, too. He is an example worth emulating in the present violent-prone society.
He considered non-violence to be a powerful force. It does not mean that one should not resist evil or injustice. He told the villagers, who had fled from the village Betiya when the police attacked them and raped the women, that they had not done the right thing. It was an act of cowardice. They should have stayed on and offered resistance without the thought of revenge. Those, who are prepared to die, can only teach the lessons of non-violence, not those who are afraid of death. Once a Pathan attacked him in 1908. His elder son, who was not with him at that time, wanted to know what was expected of him if he had been at that time. He asked: "I could not have behaved the way you wanted me to, for I would not tolerate someone attacking you. What should be done ? Should I attack the person, or stand and watch the man attacking you or run away leaving you to your fate ?" Gandhi said: "If you run away, or do not defend me, it is cowardice. It is better to use brute force than to be a coward. You should defend by fighting the attackers, if you cannot defend by imperilling your own life." This is the reason why Gandhiji joined the Boar war. He had helped the government at the time of Julu rebellion and also helped the British Government during the war. He believed that evil or wickedness be fought with non-violence and it is more effective way. He said: "Killing every Englishman will not result in any good for the country or bring about our independence. Let us reform a person than to do evil unto him."
He was wedded to non-violence and said he would prefer to die than to deviate from its path. His non-violence was not
172
173
