________________
144
JAINISM AND WORLD PROBLEMS
INTERNATIONAL PEACE
THE JAINA VIEW
The only way to stop wars is to:
(i) instil love and respect for life, that is for all forms of life, in the heart of man,
and
(ii) to make him realize, in his understanding, that the consequences of the disregard of the rule of love are terrible for the individual soul.
Nothing else will ever do, as nothing else has ever done in the past. Let us look at the past history of the world. What do we find? Wars and strife, rape and rapine, slaughter and blood-shed wherever you come across nations that ignored the rule of love or that ended their hearts' purification with a mere allusion to it in their speech. On the other hand, look at the Jainas and watch them marching along the vista of time from the hoariest antiquity to the present day. What do you find?
Jaina emperors ruling the country; Jaina Kings occupying the thrones in many places; Jaina generals distinguishing themselves on the battle field; Jaina merchants controlling the conditions of trade; but nowhere you find them instrumental in causing misery or bringing hardships on mankind. They practised ahimsa-the doctrine of non-injuring, which says hurt not even the feelings of any one, not even of an animal, without a just cause. They were at the same time impressed with the terrible nature of the doom that overtakes those who disregard the rule of ahimsa, the doctrine of Universal Love.
They understood this much clearly that by injuring any one-even a lowly worm-without adequate justification, a force for evil would be generated which must produce its harmful effect on the doer of the evil deed, and from which
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
