Light of Nonviolence

Author(s): Sushilmuni
Publisher: Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh Delhi

Page 15

itless. If we have the faith of the arihantas or the absolutely free beings, then we too can achieve a sense of Self-realization.
This is the first condition: faith in the possibility of freedom from violence and suffering. This is an entirely subjective experience having profoundly objective consequences.
The second entails a need to understand the real conditions of existence: birth, I..», death, rebirth, and the unending circle of suffering and conflict. Seeing, intellectually speaking, how we are situated in relation to nature, society, and other human beings, is a necessary analytic step in gaining an intuitive vision of the whole. In short, we have a mind and we must learn to use its many capacities to the fullest extent, to realize our humanity. This is why education, in a universal sense of the world, is so important to civilization and Self-realization.
Finally, the third condition of Self-realization in Jainism is linked to action: we must be willing to live in the real world and commit ourselves to helping others. There is no higher life than a life of service or giving to others. We become who we are most fully in giving: from our heart, mind, soul, and material being. This is the supreme principle of every ethical theory based upon human caring.