Multidimensional Application of Anekantavada

Author(s): Sagarmal Jain, Shreeprakash Pandey, Bhagchandra Jain Bhaskar
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

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Multi-dimensional Application of Anekāntavāda
2. Non-violence and ‘Anekāntavāda'
Importance of Non-violence has been preached in almost all the religious and philosophical schools of Indian Philosophy. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the prominent contemporary philosophers devoted his whole life for the noble cause of non-violence. Non-violence is not mere absence of physical injury. Violence may be of many types i.e. Physical, mental, psychical, etc. Not only this, but to think of others non-welfare, stealing, false allegation etc. also a kind of violence. And not to indulge in this type of activity is non-violence. The main cause behind violence is our passions. Being motivated with the passions-anger, deceit, greed and pride one hurts to other. The mother of violence is misunderstanding and misconceptions also. Without understanding others everybody wants to encroach the psychological territories of others with a view to overpowering. Everybody wants to overpower everybody else. Then hatred, violence and bloodshed are the result.
Non-violence is founded on friendly outlook or co-operative. outlook. Without extending your hands you cannot expect others to extend their hands. To extend our hands means fundamentally coming down from our authoritative overpowering attitude on one side and on the other side consideration and understanding of philosophy of others. This humble attitude is a matured attitude for non-violence. The world is a family and brotherhood is the constitution for non-violence. Pride, greed, super status and inequality are against non-violence. Anekāntavādais the philosophy of non-violence, it is a philosophy to be sensitive to sentiments and fellowship of others and brotherhood. Anekantavādais anti-hatred. Anekāntavāda preaches the solution of any violent issue through communication and negotiations. Anekāntavāda is a philosophy of Win-Win and it is not a philosophy of Lose-Win. 3. Leadership and Anekāntavāda
Leader is he who understands his fellow beings and implements what the fellow beings want. In initial stage, the leader is very conscious about his audience and does not act against the mass consciousness. But after coming into power he changes the attitude slowly and ultimately he is trying to be authoritative and autocratic. And from there his downfall starts. An individual cannot challenge Mass consciousness. The