Our Life In The Context of Five Anuvrat And Anekantwad

Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Jaibhikkhu Sahitya Trust

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complete annihilation. One remembers Prof. S. R. Bhatt's statement in which he had said, "The seed of the thought that was sown some two thousand five hundred years ago was reaped by Gandhi (The Thought of Ahimsa). As if there was an invisible traffic between Mahavir and Gandhi."
This principle of Ahimsa will have to be adopted in practice by human beings. The Jain religion and philosophy steadfastly emphasise the integrity and totality of life. It has a holistic view towards life. It is a religion that teaches assimilation and not division. Hence a member of the family and an employee of the shop-both must be treated on par Today the man in the temple and the man elsewhere have become two separate entitites, different from each other. That is why to integrate the two separate personalities into a single, undivided one, we will have to inculcate the spirit of Ahimsa among the people the world over.
If Ahimsa saves ants, small and big ones, it should not kill man. Otherwise it would be paradoxical. It would not be acceptable that one who treats the members of the family with affection does not do so in the profession. A woman who is a kind mother at home cannot be thougut to be cruel outside. The practice of Ahimsa should not be limited to the walls of the home, it should be allowed to spread far and wide covering all walks of our life. It should be accompanied by love and compassion for all. Bhagwan Mahavir and Chandkaushik extended it to cover even the most poisonous snakes who are always ready to strike and bite even without any provocation.
Violence is directly related to the craze for accumulation and possession, so that in the world of tomorrow exploitation and corruption would manifest
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themselves as new forms of violence. To obtain benefits by exploiting the poor, the weak, the downtrodden, the helpless is not only a manifestation of social injustice but it is one form of violence and deceit. Non-violence presupposes the coexistence of different religions, philosophies, thoughts and minds in peace with each other. That is why Santbalji has said, 'It is the Jain religion which has given to the world such precious gifts as nonviolent culture and the thought of peaceful coexistence. The world today and the one that would follow need such thoughts and feelings. Jonathan Swift at one place writes, 'We have just enough religions to make us hate but not enough to make us love one another.' If we accept the feelings expressed in this statement by this great writer, we can cross all hurdles that are created by religious fundamentalism, religious intolerance etc, and can safely reach the objective of Religious fellowship'. As terrorism in various forms is spreading its tentacles all around, the world can still be saved with the help of the cult of non-violence. It is from this cult of non-violence that the fragrance of truth, celibacy, non-possessiveness and non-stealing can be spread. We should not forget that the foundation of all this was actually laid by Mahavir Swami centuries before.
The Jain philosophy and thinking on diet has its roots in the practice of non-violence. Diet is closely connected with our mind and its processes. Our food habits have a great impact on our mind and thought, that is why we are asked to keep a vigilant eye on it. It has thrown significant light on the benefits of fasting and on simple food habits. Their importance has now been accepted even in the sphere