Non-Violence In The 21st Century

Non-Violence In The 21st Century

By Manish Modi


"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 Ahimsa 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. Nevertheless, 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 yajñas. Vis-à-vis today, there is no animal sacrifice made in the yajñas.

It is difficult to briefly trace the evolution of Ahimsa. 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.