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194
Lord Mahavira
Slave Trade
Once Lord Mahâvîra was entering the beautiful city of Rajagraha. The whole town went wild with excitement. Every one was curious to know all about the Lord. They asked one another, “Who is he? Some identified him as the prophet of the age, who had come to save humanity. Others declared he was the Lord of the age. Mahâvîra was passing through the streets of the town. Suddenly he noticed a big crowd of tradesmen talking loudly. He went near the crowd. He was astonished to notice that people were buying and selling human beings. It was slave trade. The slaves consisted of all ages and both sexes, young, old, children, men and women. His heart was filled with compassion. He stood up on the raised platform and 'harangued in a loud voice : "Oh ! My dear devotees ! You are all groping in darkness. Ignorance has obscured your vision, and you have become deaf to the dictates of your heart. It is violence of make slaves. They all are your brothers and sisters. It is violence to exercise authority over others; it is violence to subjugate others; it is violence to kill others; and it is equally violence to pain others. Treat them as equals."
The slaves in chains heard him. Their faces gleamed with joy. They cried out : "Oh ! The Saviou of mankind, you are the real redeemer of mankind; you are the apostle of truth and non-violence."
The traders were taken aback; their hearts too opened to the light. They joined in chorus. "Oh ! The Saviour of mankind ! We have been ignorant all this time. You have illumined our hearts. We will no more carry on this ignoble slave trade. We have now learnt that every human being, nay, the whole world is equal. Equility is the predominant factor in the realm of independence. Head rules, but the heart influences. We are really moved by your pure and sacrosanct heart. We have heard the rumbling of the grievances of our slaves, who are humans like us. It has stirred us to our depths. We promise we will never indulge in slave making or trading henceforth."
Thus Mahâvîra raised high his flag of anti-slave-trade, not merely because it is ignoble in character and spells exploitation. But because it is against the laws of human nature and non-violence.
