Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekanta for Contemporary Life

Author(s): Tara Sethia
Publisher: California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Page 55

Lessons of Ahimsă and Anekânta for Contemporary Life
what to speak, how to speak and when to speak. This is a great contribution of Jain religion to the world.
I am reminded of a story. One day the Mughal emperor Akbar asked his prime minister, Birbal, What is the sweetest thing in the world? Birbal replied: My lord, words are the sweetest and the words are the bitterest. Akbar did not believe this. How can words be sweet or bitter, he thought and dismissed the idea. A few days later, to prove his point, Birbal invited the empress for dinner at his house. When she was leaving his house, after a sumptuous dinner, Birbal instructed his servants to clean off after the queen, using swear words and bad and language. The empress overheard the words of insult and was shocked to learn that Birbal thought of her in such a negative way. She felt deeply wounded. When she returned to her palace she complained to the emperor about the abusive incident. This was very hard for the emperor to believe. The next day, he summoned the prime minister. When Birbal arrived, Akbar asked him: How dare you insult my wife using swear words? Birbal replied: My lord, you said words are neither sweet nor bitter, so how can they cause harm or discomfort? How can words hurt the empress?
Nonviolence, therefore, begins with our words and in our minds. The words are the first external expression of our thoughts. When we write books and articles we are told that we should be honest and critical. We should say what we think of other people and their works. But in the Jain tradition we think otherwise. We put nonviolence of thought and speech on top of our practice. If you want to practice nonviolence in your family, with your colleagues or business associates then making the use of appropriate language would be a good start. Imagine the violence language can cause. The breakups of marriages leading to bitter court cases always start with violent language. If we examine carefully, we will find that all quarrels are rooted in the breakdown of communication and/or use of abusive language. Therefore, if we can practice nonviolence of speech, then many of our family quarrels, disputes among nations and conflicts among parties and religious sects will be considerably reduced, if not
For Private & P48 onal Use Only