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Paper presented by
Manish Modi
at the International Conference on World Peace heald at Ahmedabad
from 29 December 2003 to 2 January 2004.
Na hi jnanena sadrisam pavitramiha vidyate
Dear friends,
On behalf of the Reception Committee, I welcome you to all to this
Conference. Thank you all for joining us in making this International
Conference on World Peace a grand success.Your enthusiastic
scholarly participation enhances the value and the importance of this
conference.
With the permission of the Chair, I shall present my paper:
REDEFINING NON-VIOLENCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY, with special reference to the
Jaina Religion.
"The Rishis who discovered the law of non-violence were
greater
geniuses than Newton, greater warriors than Wellington.
Non-
violence is the law of our species as violence is the law
of the
brute."1
Today, with the spread of education, people are willing to give up age-old
prejudices and biases in the pursuit of spirituality and global peace. They
want to find true peace. They are no longer willing to accept distortions
and artifice
in the name of religion. They are keen for peace and non-violence. If they
are logically explained about violence in all its forms, they will master
the concept
of Ahinsa and its meaning, its importance and its value.
All religions of the world teach us that violence is a sin and non-violence
is a virtue. But, despite this common teaching, one cannot claim that all
religions perceive violence in the same light.
Scholars of the world who have studied scriptures belonging to different
religions, covering the past 2500 years, and have considered various codes
of conduct, histories, and ethical teachings, are of the opinion that, the
definition
of violence and levels of acceptable violence are unique to each religion.
The concept of non-violence in the Vedic era is one in which thousands of
animals are sacrificed during the yajnas. Vis-à-vis today, there is no
animal sacrifice made in the yajnas.
It is difficult to briefly trace the evolution of Ahinsa. Clearly, the
concept of
non-violence occupies an important position in the world's theological
hierarchy. The ethico-epistemological structure of each religion grants a
tremendous importance to non-violence. No religion in the world teaches
violence. Yet, the levels of violence that are acceptable to the followers
of
each religion are very different. This is because the etymology and
understanding of the word non-violence varies between religions, cultures,
regions and civilisations.
What is the Jain perspective on non-violence? What are its recurring motifs,
and what has been its impact on other religions, mainly Hinduism? One
response is that of the great scholar Lokmanya Tilak. Tilak states that
"In ancient times, innumerable animals were butchered in
sacrifices.
Evidence in support of this is found in various poetic
compositions
such as the Meghaduta. But the credit for the
disappearance of this
terrible massacre from the brahminical religion goes to
Jainism."2
First, we ascertain the real meaning of non-violence, differentiating
between non-killing, non-injury, motiveless violence and premeditated
violence. To illustrate the Jain position, we will apply the epistemological
proposition of Anekanta that considers the relativity of Truth or Reality.
What is Anekanta?
Anekanta is a system of considering an object in all its modes. Anekanta
holds that reality is multi-dimensional, dynamic, and operates at different
levels.
Thus, Anekanta is truly a dynamic tool for considering reality, which by
itself is dynamic.
How does Anekanta work?
Equipped with Anekanta, the Jaina appreciates reality in all its aspects.
She or he is equipped to understand other people's viewpoints. This makes
her or him a better listener, more sympathetic and more receptive to others
and their viewpoints.
He or she is willing to consider any phenomena in its entirety. She or he is
diligent enough to examine all precedents, willing to approach any issue
with
an open mind and unwilling to jump to an instantaneous conclusion.
Faced with a complex moral question, he or she is willing to consider the
conundrum in all its aspects. She or he is willing to think for her or
himself, consider the issue from its various viewpoints. He or she is
willing to put
himself or herself in other people's shoes and see the issue from their
viewpoints.
Such a rational and ethical approach is bound to lead to less violence, less
anger and consequently, less anguish.
In my humble opinion, there is a direct relationship between anger and
anguish. The more anger you have, the more anguish you will feel. The less
anger you have, the less anguished you will experience.
A sane rational man or woman is not only logical, but also applaudable and
will find a non-violent solution and hence a lasting peace.
Only the non-violent settling of problems creates a lasting peace.
Aggression, belligerence and violence will only beget a temporary truce
fraught with
tension. Reasoned, fair, non-violent and mutually agreed-upon solutions
always bring a lasting peace, and a peace among equals.
The relations of India and the United Kingdom have changed. India, the
former colony, and UK, the former coloniser, have become at peace with
one another, because the Indian National Movement had been largely an
exercise in non-violence and self-restraint. If India had gone instead for a
bloody revolution and indulged in senseless violence, millions of lives
would have been lost and bad blood would have been created for generations.
The victors of the First World War imposed a dishonourable defeat and a
peace among non-equals by mortgaging the human rights and economy of
the Germans, and consequently, trampling on their self-respect. Two
decades later, Germany was held responsible for another World War. Had
the victors of the First World War imposed less rigorous and damaging
terms on the German people, or created a peace among equals, perhaps
there may not have been a Second World War!
The Jain interpretation of non-violence
A lot of people, including Jains, mistake vegetarianism for non-violence.
This perspective is both true and false. It is true, since vegetarianism may
be viewed as the external manifestation of inner non-violence. And, it is
false, since, vegetarianism by itself does not convey the essence of
non-violence.
What is non-violence?
Non-violence is the external manifestation of confidence, inner purity and
wholeness.
A person who is strong, complete and whole from the inside, and confident
in his or her outlook is most likely to respect the rights of others. She or
he
will not knowingly trample upon another person's rights, nor will she or he
injure her or his self-respect. He or she will behave at all times with
dignity
and consideration. She or he will consider other people's needs, with
reason and empathy.
Someone who is insecure, biased, afraid, and not willing to think for him or
herself, therefore lacking in self-respect, will never respect another
person's rights, and will behave in a prejudiced and immoral way.
What causes prejudices and bigotry? We believe they are caused by
economic or political conflict, an expression of frustration, conformity to
existing norms, xenophobia and illusions of purity and racial grandeur: the
tendency to judge people by categorising them.
We now examine these causes closely.
Economic or Political Conflict
When resources are limited and the means of livelihood is hard to come by,
we may experience in ourselves a sharp rise in bigotry and regional
chauvinism. We feel that we must compete for any scare resources. We
are trying to qualify for a job, gain admission to an educational
institution,
or qualify for a spot on some special team. Yet, we who cannot achieve our
ambitions can become conflicted and instead, achieve negative attitudes
towards others.
An Expression of Frustration and Insecurity
When we are thwarted, we may express our frustration by speaking poorly
about specific groups of people, calling the group's or groups' members
cheats or crooks, or badmouthing the members. When we are insecure, we
see any setback as an end to our personal hopes and dreams. We feel that
our lives are shattered and tend to take out our frustration on the people
who seemingly have defeated us or that people's ethnic group or their
community. We, whose hopes apparently have been dashed, feel that we have
been
denied what we deserve, and instead of trying to critically review our own
position, we turn to bigotry. In this confused haze of bigotry, we find it
nearly impossible to see the truth, unless our inner strength is developed
which can
only come from a rational world view.
Conformity to Existing Norms
One of the most common causes of prejudice and bigotry is conformity to
existing norms. Since we have inherited bigotry from their families and the
societies to which they belong, we think meanly or poorly of specific groups
of people, of specific communities, without thinking of the ramifications of
this, the bigotry.
Since Pakistan and India are so often in conflict with each other, many of
us
in India fall prey to thinking ill of Pakistanis. I use myself as an
example.
The first time I met a Pakistani, I was willing to hate him on sight. But,
since
we were both working in a country, not native to either of us, we were
forced to work together as a team. As time went by, we got to know each
other and we became good friends. This "bloody Pakistani" eventually
became
my
closest friend.
I had previously considered myself to be a rational person. Yet, I had been
so undeniably willing to hate another person whom I did not know at all,
simply because I condemn the policies of the nation of which that person
was a citizen. I had transferred my hatred for another country into hatred
towards its citizens.
Xenophobia and Illusions of Purity and Racial Grandeur: The Tendency to
Judge People by Categorising Them
Our tendency, often, is to sort through the world by objectifying others and
subsequently, categorising them into groups based on race, nationality,
colour of skin, religion, caste, creed, native language, et cetera. Our
tendency to judge others, based on the ethnic group, to which they belong,
is not only misleading, but clearly, WRONG. Simply put, we are all
different. We are all unique individuals. We think differently, act
differently, and
respond differently because we FEEL differently.
We are reminded of a few groups in recent years and centuries: The Nazis,
the Khmer Rouge, many Europeans and Americans. They had illusions of
racial purity and they felt morally justified to exterminate millions of
Jews, Cambodians, and Indigenous peoples, respectively, in order to carry
out
`racial cleansing.' As a group, what is our destiny?
We now consider the Jain texts to see how many ways the term Ahimsa
or non-violence is interpreted. What is the Jain understanding of Ahimsa,
or non-violence?
Ahimsa is a profound understanding of all living beings and the feeling of
natural compassion towards them. Empathy is key. Swami Kartikeya says:
"jo vavarei sadao appanasamam param pi mannanto,"3
the translation of which is, he or she who behaves with compassion, knows
others to be just like him or her self.
We, who empathise with all living beings, behave compassionately. We are
able to recognise that living beings have aspirations and feelings, and we
are able to respect all living beings, including ourselves. We understand
that all living beings are different, yet, deeply interconnected. Logic
permits us to
know that there is no other, and simultaneously, that we are all unique.
There
is no enemy. Our actions affect all living beings as much as the actions of
all living beings affect us. Therefore, we need to ensure that our actions
do not restrict the vitality and expression of all living beings and make
sure that we
do not kill nor injure a living being through tethering, beating, piercing
the
skin, overloading or withholding food and drink.
Acarya Samantabhadra describes Ahimsa:
"Ahimsa
bhutanam jagati viditam brahma paramam,"4
meaning that, Ahimsa is the supreme truth for all human beings in this
universe. Ahimsa is the foundation of a virtuous life. Neither the
individual nor the
society can live in peace and happiness without non-violence. Ahimsa is the
key to asceticism.
In conclusion, it is claimed that violence, falsehood, avarice, loathing,
and so
on, are the universal causes of suffering. The perpetrators of such acts
cause great harm to themselves and to others.
The first victim of violence is the perpetrator or, our self. We feel the
miseries brought about through the karmic influx as a direct result of our
acts
of violence. To recapitulate, violence only leads to unmitigated
suffering.
Jainism is rooted in a reverence for all forms of life, characterised by a
non-violence based on a true understanding of reality, and finds strength in
forbearance and freedom from worldly desires through ascetic practices.
By practising Jainism in letter and spirit, one respects other people, does
not harm them nor injure them, does not lie to them nor steal from them,
does not lust after their possessions and wealth, and is impelled by
Jainism's teaching of:
"PARASPAROPAGRAHO
JIVANAM"
Tattvarthasutra 5:21
The purpose of souls is to assist each other. One makes the world a better,
safer and more peaceful place in which to stay.
I wish all of you a Happy, Peaceful and Enlightening New Year.
Yours in Ahimsa,
Manish Modi
References
1. Romain Rolland. Mahatma Gandhi, p. 48.
2. Lokmanya Tilak. Letter, Bombay Samachar, (Mumbai 10 December, 1904).
3. Swami Kartikeya. Kartikeyanupreksa, Gaha 331 (first half).
4. Acarya Samantabhadra. Brhatasvayambhustotra, Verse 119 (first half).
Bibliography
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Shrimad Rajachandra Ashram (Agas: 1997).
Dr. S.C. Diwakar. Jain Shasan (Hindi).
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Dr. Arthur B. Dobrin, ed. Religious Ethics: A Sourcebook (English).
Hindi Granth Karyalay (Mumbai: 2004).
Hermann Kuhn. The Key to the Centre of the Universe (English).
Shri Jain Sanskriti Sanrakshak Sangh (Solapur: 2003).
Dr. Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya. Jain Darshan (Hindi).
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