Mahavira and his Philosophy of Life

Author(s): Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Jain Vidya Samsthan

Page 55

whereas the life of Mahavratas represents complete morality of the Muni. The Anuvratas and the Mahāvratas are the ways of overcoming the vices of Himsā, Steya, Asatya, Abrahmacarya and Parigraha. Let us deal with the nature of these vices which will help us in deriving the scope of Anuvratas and Mahāvratas. Himsā may be defined as the committing of injury to the physical and psychical aspects of oneself and others through the operation of passion-infected activities of mind, body and speech. This means that if, in spite of the dispassionate activities of mind, body and speech any living being is injured, it can not be called Himsā, since the infecting element of passion is missing. On the contrary, even if the activities of mind, body and speech are passion-infected, and no living being is oppressed, even then the actions are called Himsā. Here though the soul has not injured others, yet it has injured itself by defiling its own natural constitution. Thus we may say that it is only on the basis of the internal state of mind that the acts of Himsā and Ahiṁsā are to be judged. This should not be taken to understand that external behaviour is of no significance, since in human life the outward commission of Hissã without the pursuance of internal corruption can not be vindicated. He who exclusively emphasizes the internal at the expense of the external forgets the significance of outward behaviour. Thus both . the internal and external aspects should occupy their due places.
Hissä is of two kinds : intentional and non-intentional. The latter has again been divided into Udyami, Ārambhi and Virodhi. Intentional Himsă implies the voluntary commitment of Himsā by one's own self along with the
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Mahavira and his Philosophy of Life