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appease him with folded hands and promise not to do wrong
again."48
Ahińså by commission and approval also comes into the category of vocal and mental ahiṁsā. In a way we can say that mental ahiṁsā is more extensive ethical principle than vocal ahiṁsā, because the spoken word is only an expression of thought. Therefore, all these different kinds of ahiṁsā (directed towards mental objects or physical), mentioned above, can also be understood as mental ahiṁsā.44 Action also is expression of thought. Often Jaina ahiṁsā is interpreted as non-killing alone, but it is quite apparent that there are instances of mental ahiṁsā also, A Jain sūtra declares :
"And if one acts carelessly, moved by the influence of passions, there "hiṁsā'' certainly arises before him whether a living being is killed or not". "because under the influence of passions, the person first injures itself, through the self, whether there is subsequently an injury caused to another being or not.45
All action, therefore, dominated by carelessness or passion leads to violence. There are two ways of committing an injury : by subjective injury to the passoinate man himself which is purely mental and by objective injury to other living beings.
A well-known exponent of Jaina philosophy, J.L, Jaini, illustrated mental ahimsa in the following ways:
"A true Jaina will do nothing to hurt the feeling of another person, man, woman and child nor will he violate the principle of Jainism.''46
This opinion is not necessarily a modern interpretation of Jaina ahiṁsā. Mental ahiṁsāis no doubt exposed in Jaina ethics. References to non-anger, freedom from greed, as well as insistence on sweet and pleasing language may not, however, always be given as an example of ahimsa but they are so closely related to ahimsa that we may include them under this heading.
To understand ahiṁsā thoroughly, we have also to study its opposite side, because non-violence can be understood properly only by contrasting it with violence. Killing is commonly understood to be a specific term referring to an act involving the taking of life. Violence, however is much broader in its meaning. It no doubt include killing as an extreme example of violence, but violence can have many meanings and aspects. Umasvami has given a good definition of the inception of violence : "Pramathayogāt prāņavyaperopaņam hiṁsā.''47 Violence means injury to vitality (prāņavyaparopanam) caused by passionate 'vibrations' (pramathayoga).
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