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Religion and Non-Violence
in the order mentioned here are: truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, compassion, rectitude, forbearance, temperance in food and cleanliness.
The Upanishads enjoined upon people and seers to observe ahimsā, yet there was no bar to offering animal sacrifices to the gods. In fact, it was a duty to offer such sacrifices when one went to holy places. Killing of the animals for sacrificial purposes was not considered an act contrary to ahimsā; through it one improved one's chances of reaching the Brahmaloka and attaining freedom from rebirth.
By the time of the Epics, the Rāmāyana and the Mahābhārata, the Indian subcontinent was politically divided into different empire states, each one headed by an Aryan emperor, king or chief. Religiously and socially, however, all were guided by a common religion, tradition and customs. The performance of one's duty (svadharma) in life according to one's caste (varņa) and stage of life (ashrama) was strictly enjoined upon all. The duties of a Brāhmin (priest, teacher) differed from those of a Kshatriya (warrior), a Vaishya (trader) and of a Sudra (untouchable); furthermore, these duties varied at different stages of one's life: During the first stage of life, a brahmachari (celibate student) was to learn by serving his teacher; in the second stage, a grihastha (married man) was to earn his living and look after the family; in the third stage, a vānprastha (forest dweller) was to live his life in meditation in a jungle, and in the fourth stage, a sannyasin (a person who severs all connections with his worldly life) meditated, roamed about
1 Just as ancient Greeks had keen interest in natural philosophy, and the Romans for law and order, in the same way the Indians--Hindus, Jainas and Buddhists-had a special aptitude for seeking and living a religious life. The most respected person in Indian society has always been the religious saint, and his ascetic teachings have permeated Indian culture at all times.
From the unreal lead me to the real; From darkness lead me to light;
From death lead me to immortality. Such an attitude on the part of an Indian ascetic is not born out of frustration following the failure to achieve a comfortable life with riches and amenities, but because he had fully realized that the comforts and riches of the world could never satisfy human mind. True happiness according to him, could be attained only by lessening the desires rather than by fulfilling the desires for worldly things and attachments.
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