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Ahimsa Research Institute - its scope and sphere of work
beings as natural and inevitable and to subscribe to a system which tends to perpetuate these divisions is the unsocial way; the way of Himsa. The way of Ahimsa is to eliminate all conflicts that divide men and to strive to inculcate the sense of equality and brotherhood among men.
The Ahimsak way of life would be to draw attention to the cruel and vicious nature of hunting of animals and killing them for food and afford protection and sanctuary to all living beings. There is another subtle and more terrible form of Himsa (Violence) rampant in human society, viz, the exploitation of the have-nots by the haves, through the power of money and administrative authority. The Ahimsa University would draw the attention of the society to these things with a view to eradicating them. This in fact, would be the main object of the Ahimsa University.
The ultimate goal of the University would be to lead the human society more and more towards the adoption of Ahimsak way of life and see to it that the means to achieve this end are also based on Ahimsa.
Those individuals or groups who strive to gain their selfish ends through Himsa, (Violence) who try to maintain their hold on Capital resources, who do not wish to let go of their power to suppress and dominate others do not object to the propagacion of the Ahimsak ideal, for they know that as long as the means adopted for social reform are based on Ahimsa (Non-Violence) they are safe from molestation.
They do not however, realise that the Ahimsak (Non-Violent) revolutionaries while enduring pain and physical torture, through selfsacrifice, strike at the very roots of privilege and power that exploits others and they bring about the revolution in life through revolutionising the thoughts of men.
If due to any reasons, it may not be possible to do so, Ahimsa will lose force as a weapon of reform and the exploited sections of society will take to violence culminating in a bloody revolution.
To eliminate the danger of a bloody revolution it is essential that We devise ways and means whereby all sorts of social injustices may be successfully eradicated through Ahimsak (Non-Violent) means.
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Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
