Spiritual Code and Restraints

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 22

one with hostility. If any of them undergoes pain or misery, we would have sympathy and compassion for him. Eventually, this would lead to the sense of amity. Extending the compassion and amity to every being is the essence of Ahinsä.
In order to illustrate true Ahinsä, let us take an event of Lord Mahävir's life. During the 11th year of his spiritual pursuit, a heavenly being named Sangam perpetrated terrible distress on the Lord in order to break his bearing capacity. For that purpose he created a havoc during one night, while the Lord was meditating. Any other person would have succumbed to those atrocities. The Lord, however, remained steadfast in his meditation and did not develop any ill will for Sangam. In the morning when Sangam was almost exhausted of inflicting pain, he saw tears in the eyes of the Lord. At last, he thought, he had succeeded in breaking the Lord's will. The Lord could read his mind and pointed out that the tears did not indicate his breakdown; they were flowing out of compassion for the horrible fate, which Sangam had acquired for himself by inflicting the pain. This has been depicted by Acharya Hemachandrasuri in the following verse of the Sakalärhat Sutra
Krutäparädhepi Jane, Krupä Manthar Tarayoh Ishad Bäshpärdrayorbhadram, Shrivirajin Netrayoh
It means: 'There was benediction in the eyes of Lord Mahävir, which became wet with tears of compassion even for him, who had been the offender.' A true non-violent person has that sort of innate compassion even for the offenders.
Mahätmä Gändhi also could show the capacity of positively reacting to others' wrongs. He had to face terrible distress from the Durban whites, when he went back to South Africa. He, however, felt that the whites indulged in such action on account of their misunderstanding about him and therefore declined to take any action against the offenders. In tune with that thinking, he evolved the movement of civil disobedience in order to nonviolently resist unjustifiable rules and regulations. During that movement he was careful to see that no harm is done to his opponents. He did not want even to mentally hurt anyone. His concept of non-violent resistance was effective there and ultimately that very concept gained independence for India. At the time of partition of India, when communal situation got out of control, Government of India had to deploy a large military contingent on its western border. For the eastern border, however, Mahätmä Gändhi constituted one-man army for reestablishing the communal harmony. He had a vision to exile non-violence from the world.
Chapter 7
SATYA The Truth
Musäväo Cha Logammi, Savvasähohim Garihio Avissäso Cha Bhooyanam, Tamhä Mosam Vivajjae
Dashvaikälik Sutra