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Ahimsa Research Institute-Preface
A world Conference of Religions was held last year on the 17th and 18th of November, 1957 in which the religious heads of the world participated. They affirmed unanimously that Man's welfare and universal brotherhood could only be achieved through Ahimsa. Himsa, on the other hand, is an insurmountable obstacle Man had always progressed in his onward march with the help of Ahimsa. Even in these days, the Himsa may appear to be a necessity of life, yet it cannot possibly give a correct lead to Man nor help in the making of Man.
The history of Ahimsa can be traced back to the hoary past. Whenever Himsa ruled supreme in the world, the enlightened beings restored the equilibrium in the Individual or the society by indoctrinating the principles of Ahimsa. Both Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha laid a great stress on developing control over the self in man. Their code of social conduct is doing immense good to the society even in this age. Their rigid rules of self-discipline are much stronger and more effective than the administrative principles of state-control; for these are adopted voluntarily for the sake of self-realisation and God-realisation. The kindly administration of Ashoka, the loving social set-up of the Quakers and Red Indians and the code of justice of Confucious were all based on the principle of Ahimsa and have come to us from the most ancient heritage.
In the present age, Man has after passing through a series of stages in the political development of society, come to believe in the greatness of social strength and world brotherhood is the Clarion's call of the times. Mahamta Gandhi even in the field of politics, has not only been successfully able to build the destiny of the nation through Truth and Non-Violence, but has attracted the world attention towards these basic needs of the humanity.
While talking of the present day ills of the society, he once said, "Whenever I look at the thick and fast-gathering clouds that threaten to overwhelm the world, then suddenly through the enveloping darkness there flashes forth the light of Ahimsa, I have a firm belief and conviction that the new social order will be based on Ahimsa. Both for the Individual and society in all their activities, material, political or religious shall be
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Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
