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Ahimsa
APPENDIX
Ahimsa has been declared to be the greatest religion-ahimsa paramo dharmah; and this is done even to this day. This much is accepted; but what is the meaning of ahimsa. In plain language, it means not to indulge in violence. When some discussion on violence-non-violence is afoot, we usually imply not to kill others, not to harm others, or, positively, to help and protect others Thus the topic of violence-non-violence is related to others. But such a view is one sided
not very
Violence may be directed to self, but people are conscious of it Even those who are conscious mean by violence to self the act of committing suicide, and do not go to its depth. Delusion, attachment, malice within is the worst form of violence to self, but people are not very much aware of it.
Keeping all this in view, a famous Jaina Acarya, Amrita Candra has defined himsa-ahimsa in Puruşārthasiddhypāya as follows.
apradurbhavah khalu rāgādinām bhavatyahımseti teşamevotpattirhimseti jināgamasya samksepah 44
The genesis of attachment, malice, delusion in the soul is humsā and their total absence is ahimsa Such is the gist of the Jaina Agamas.
A natural question that may arise here is, is it then not himsa that living being die or are killed or not ahimsa if they are protected ? The answer to this question depends on the nature of life and of death
Maranam prakṛtirśarīrīṇām-As per this dictum death is a certainty for all living beings someday or other. Anyone with a body does not eternally live At appropriate time, he is either killed by some other being or dies himself.
If death is taken to be synonymous with himsa, then it will end, and in that case, life becomes synonymous with
never
