Why Non - Violence?
By Mr. Suzanne Kamerman, New York
Man is a social being. He cannot live without society, the help of others. The principle you can apply to whole planet Earth. Where ever life is found it is never alone or independent.
Twenty-five hundreds years ago, one Seer of Truth, Lord Mahaveer , told "Paraspar Upgraha Jivanam" All living beings are giving help to each other. Without the help of each other no living being can survive. One Rishi expressed this essence of knowledge, "what you want for yourself, that same thing you do for others."
Without helping each other, no one can survive. This is the Golden Rule. The purpose of this golden rule is expansion of self and is the right way of life. Expansion means oneness with all living beings and oneness bring love, compassion, co-existence, and universal brotherhood and the wisdom to live and let live.
Sometimes we think we are totally independent, that we can act and behave as we wish. But this is not the way of Nature. You cannot maintain the balance of nature with this attitude. If man destroys all the trees and forests great suffering will start. Our atmosphere will become polluted. Rain will stop. All greenery will stop. Life will become so difficult. The only way to sustain our atmosphere is to balance the nature. If you lose one wire or alter one part of this magnificent guitar then you cannot produce music. Maintaining the balance of nature is Non-violence - and Non -Violence is the Flower of this planet.
Yet so many people you are wise in other ways covers this principle by rituals, dogma, traditions, holidays, special days. So many times people forget the real purpose of Non-Violence and religion. Ritual become the empty basis for the karma. Rituals without the real knowledge cannot serve our purpose. With knowledge, then rituals is not different from the essence of religion and non- violence.
Basically, non-violence is the essence of all religious teachings. Gandhiji used this term and applied its concept to politics because he was aware that it is the wholeistic basis of life and applicable in every situation, business, agriculture and in every subject and object.
What people did to nature in the past because of ignorance is a sinful thing. How much disaster, destruction, pollution and nuclear radioactivity have we created ? And this problem of nuclear fallout is more deep and dangerous than we can realize. We have stored so many destructive weapons. If we really want to be rid of them, then now? And where ? On the moon? Underground ? In the ocean? Ultimately their position, their radioactivity will come back into our human stomachs. We are standing at a crossroads. We have to select between total destruction, annihilation, the total survival. We must learn to cross this vast ocean of Destruction we ourselves have created.
Perhaps by Grace of Divinity, by the power of prayer, we can dissipate all the destructive influences and nuclear weapons. Physically we have no way. Perhaps some special power can finish them without any bad effect. In my opinion, when we are constructing the temples of non-violence, love and peace, then naturally we are building more and more powerful and correct vibrations. We are generating oceans of love, floods of positive and good wishes, like mighty rivers. Perhaps we can conquer the negativity of this world. But first and foremost the temple must be built inside the human heart. We must remove all our inner negativity which has been creating fear and terror for our dear planet Earth.
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From : Crusader for Pease and Non-Violence
Published By : International Mahaveer Jain Mission, Siddhachalam, 65, Mud Pond Road, Blairstown, New Jersey 07825
Tele : 908-362-9793, Fax-908-362-9649
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Mail to : Ahimsa Foundation
www.jainsamaj.org
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