________________
DHARMA IN PRACTICE.
167
D
the shade of the Great Warrior who had filled the world with deeds of his renown:
آپ کے روز جیا کس لئے دارا مارا
[Tr. How long didst thou live ? - .
To what purpose killedst thou Dara (Darius). ?] When the redoubtable Mahmud of Ghazni was on his death-bed, it is said that he had all the plundered wealth of India brought before him to pass it in review for the last time. It was a touching sight to see this old warrior who had carried pillage and sword no less than eleven times to India, lying with the stamp of despair on his ghastly face. There he lay surrounded by his warrior hosts, his weapons still lying within reach and his riches in front, but conscious of the fast-approaching Foe, and of his utter helplessness against it--a true picture of the final scene in the drama of world-power and its inevitable end! Can we doubt after this that ahimsa is the highest religion, the dharma which sustains and supports ? Life is dear to all, and it is the recognition of the right to the joy of living in others that ensures our own joy. Sádi says :
است میا زار مورے که دانا کش که جا دارد و جان شیریں خوش است
[Tr. 'Do not injure the ant which is a carrier of grain ;
For it has life, and life is dear to all.'] It is wrong to imagine that we can prosper in defiance of dharma, or that ahimsá is the cause of political downfall. Were the Hindus vanquished by Mahomadans because they observed ahimsâ ?-or because their mutual feuds and jealousies prevented them from presenting a combined front to the invaders ?. Ahimsa
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
