Acharya Tulsi
The biggest among the problems of the present age is the problem of violence. There was violence in the past, there is violence in the present and it cannot be said that there would be no violence in the future. Wherever there is life, wherever the search for means of livelihood is involved, there is violence. But that violence never becomes a problem. It becomes a problem when there is no check on emotions. If we leave aside animals and birds, then we shall have to believe that the seeds of violence lie, in man's nervous system and his reflexes. It is impossible to find any solution to the problem of violence without keeping them well under check.
Man is a worshipper of truth, good and beauty (Satyam sivam, sundaram). What is truth? It is a fact that everyone in the world wants to live in his own way. Creating obstruction in his way of living means violence. The root cause of violence is attachment for material things. The deeper the attachment, violence too would be more terrible. There is no scope for violence at all in the life of a detached person. That is why instead of confining ourselves to the off-shoots of violence, it is necessary to go to its roots. As long as the roots of violence are not dug out, it is difficult to prevent its evil results.
Violence is mainly of three types—violence which is impulsive, violence which defensive and violence which is deliberate. Any social animal cannot keep himself away from violence born out of an impulse and violence born out of defence. He has to till the land, he engages himself in occupations and he has to a acquire means for his livelihood. Violence involved in these activities is unavoidable. There are also occasions of protests and quarrels in social life. A person resorts to violence to frustrate the attack of his opponent or to prevent a possible attack from him. Even if it is not regarded inevitability, it would have to be called his helplessness. So long as a man has in him the life instinct, he has to adopt all possible means to protect himself.
The third form of violence is the result of determination. There is no purpose, no inner compulsion and no expectation. Still man takes to violence. He kills innocent people. Why? He is possessed with the frenzy to kill. His mind has stopped thinking. Very often the person himself does not know why he has so much anger in him for, others. He rides the horse of emotions whose reins are not in his hands. There is no way to save him if that horse throws him in a deep valley. This is what is happening in the world today.
The solution to the problem of violence is not in counter-violence. Had that been the case, violence would have been dead and gone long ago. Counter-violence only aggravates violence. Its permanent solution is non-violence. Like violence the seeds of non-violence also lie in the mind of man. So long as man's mind is not trained, violence, wearing new masks, would continue to disrupt peace.
To prevent violence, training in non-violence is necessary. Training in non-violence means training in controlling emotions, training in changing the lifestyle and training in changing the system. The Jain Vishva Bharati Institute which is a deemed university is determined to implement the scheme of training in non-violence. If this scheme is successfully implemented, then the sun of peaceful coexistence, cutting through the gathering clouds of violence, can throw its light all around.
