Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekanta for Contemporary Life

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

Page 58

Satish Kumar, "Nonviolence for All"
Jain tradition is a non-dualistic tradition. We are all connected and we stand together in relation to one another. We cannot exist by ourselves. So America and rest of the world cannot stay separate. "The West and the Rest" has been the slogan of some western thinkers, business leaders and politicians. The superior West and the inferior rest. They are trying to globalize western values: everyone must drink coca cola, eat MacDonald's, wear blue jeans, watch Hollywood films showing naked bodies in the bed with sex scenes and then tell a Muslim that this is the culture of liberty which you should be adopting. This is not the globalization we want. What we do want is the globalization of love, of nonviolence, of peace.
The title of my new book is "You are therefore I am." This is in contrast to Rene Descartes, the French philosopher, who said: "I think, therefore, I am." "I" not "We." I think in my head in isolation and therefore I am. So America stands alone. My family stands alone. I stand alone. This is the cult of individualism. It is this cult which gives birth to consumerism and selfishness.
In nonviolence we all live together and depend on each other. When we are violent to others, we are violent to ourselves. When we are attacking others, we are attacking ourselves. Nonviolence is not a matter of convenience. I will talk to my friend - but can I talk to my enemy? Can I listen to people who are in disagreement with me? Can I ask them, Why are you so angry? What have I done to you my brothers and sisters that you are ready to kill yourself? Have I damaged you in anyway? Have I offended you? It is very easy for a strong country like the United States to go and bomb a weak country. But talking to an enemy requires real strength and courage.
In the Jain tradition we have a figure of Mahābāhubali, who is regarded great symbol of power and strength. He was fighting with his brother Bharat with a sword. So angry was he that he lifted his arm with the naked sword to kill Bharat. Then he paused and asked himself, What am I doing? Is this my real strength? What satisfaction will this give me? Then and there he
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