Positive Non Violence

Author(s): Kanhaiyalal Lodha, Dalpatsingh Baya
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 99

Mercy is nothing but to have a volitional disposition of compassion for the miserable. 2. Dīnesvārteșu bhīteșu yācamāneșu jīvitam || Pratikāraparābuddhiḥ kārunyamamidhīyate ||
- Hemacandra, Yogaśāstra, Prakaraṇa 4, 120 The inclination to mitigate the troubles of those that are poor, miserable, frightened and begging for life is to have the quality of mercy. 3. Kāruņikatvam ca vairāgyād na bhidyate |
- Syādvādamañjarī. Mercy is not different from detachment. Where there is mercy, attachment is always on the wane. Compassion -
Where there is mercy, there is compassion, too. One whose heart does not shake on seeing those in pain and misery, he is not kind but cruel and heartless. He is stonehearted and is beset with inertia and insensitivity. That is, his quality of right vision is heavily obscured. His consciousness is undeveloped. Consciousness or sensitivity is the sign of life. One is said to be inert to the extent that one lacks sensitivity, To that extent he is undeveloped and at a lower order of life. The development of sensitivity itself is the development of consciousness. A person is as compassionate as his heart is filled with the quality of sensitivity. Compassion is a sign of right vision. Where there is no compassion, there is no right vision also. A person who lacks compassion can never be endowed with right vision and one who has not the right vision cannot liberate. Therefore, only that person can aspire for spiritual salvation that is right-visioned and right-visioned is one whose heart is filled with compassion. As has been said -
Samyaktvam kīdrśam bhavati? Pañceti, pañcabhiḥ śamasamveganirvedānukampāstikyarūpairlakṣaṇaiḥ lingairlakṣitamupalakṣitam bhavati
- Dharmasaṁgraha, Adhikāra 2.
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Positive Non-Violence