अहिंसा : एक विकासोन्मुख कदम

Summary

The text discusses the concepts of violence (hinsa) and non-violence (ahinsa), exploring who commits violence, why, who does not, and what violence is. It states that according to scripture, a person engrossed in worldly pleasures and comforts commits violence. The pursuit of excessive material desires, competition, and production leads to violence, hardening the heart and diminishing sensitivity. Violence arises from mental afflictions like attachment, aversion, and ignorance, as well as from imbalance and deprivation. The text emphasizes that without renouncing violence, one cannot eliminate suffering. It highlights the importance of non-violent consciousness and sensitivity, noting that a society lacking sensitivity becomes prone to crime and cruelty. Violence is described as causing negative thinking, stress, disease, and premature death, while non-violence leads to longevity, beauty, wealth, strength, and health. The text cites that one who sees terror in violence, who is equanimous, and who is a wise person does not commit violence. Non-violence is rooted in compassion, friendship, and equanimity. Violence is characterized as that which binds the mind, causes delusion, leads to death, and results in intense suffering. The text notes that contemporary violence includes environmental destruction, murder, robbery, and abortion. It presents non-violence as the ultimate criterion of religion, defining it as restraint towards all living beings. The conclusion urges moving away from the servitude of violence and stepping into the clean, healthy, and progressive world of non-violence.