Jainism and Democracy

Author(s): Indra Chandra Shastri
Publisher: I A S S Jain Conference New Delhi

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TAINISM AND DEMOCRACY
3. Respect for man and 4. Respect for personal effort.
The first thing is respect for life. Mahavira was against the supermacy of a few over others. He did not like that the existence of one class should be confined to the 'comfort of others'. All animals, whether human beings or lower ones possess equal right to live. It is against morality that man should consume the life of other animals for his personal enjoyment. The basic principle of morality, according to Mahavira, is the feeling of equality. Ones being virtuous or otherwise depends upon the amount of the sense of equality practised by him in the actual life. "Samayae samano hoi". A sramana becomes through Samata this was the basic announcement of Mahavira. Fear, hatred, malice, envy and all other sorts of passions weakening the self, come from the feeling of inequality. If a man respects his own life he must respect the life of his fellow beings as well; and we can say this is the first step towards democratic Universe.
Analysis and classification is a speciality of the ancient religions : particularly, that of Buddhism and Jainism. In jain scriptures (nara ) non-violence is classified into one hundred and eight types, which is interesting to ntoe how the ancient sages were careful about their conduct.
The first three types are related with the three steps towards commitment of an action. They are Samramha i.e. intention to commit a sin (2) Samarambha preparation and (3) Arambha-actual doing. Each of them is