Acharya Mahaprajna
The question is; where can nonviolence develop? For development there are five essential conditions. The first condition is to be calm and placid. This translates to the development of the calmness of mind and poise. Nonviolence can develop only where there is a state of calmness. The second condition is tolerance. If an ascetic wants to be nonviolent, he will have to think of enduring the prescribed twenty-two hardships or difficulties (parisah). Without these he cannot practise nonviolence. The third condition is humility and the fourth is complete commitment to truth. Nonviolence can never develop in a person who is not dedicated to truth. People dedicate themselves to an individual and his dress, to an establishment, to a caste, to a class, to gender and community, but are not dedicated to thoughts and principles. Under these circumstances nonviolence does not become a part of one’s life. The fifth condition is faith in righteous living or exemplary behaviour.
A man should live an exemplary life. He should practise what he preaches. Today man’s life is bereft of practice and application. How many people are there who believe in practising what they say? All great men whose lives were marked by truth, nonviolence, compassion and friendliness lived a life of righteous conduct. They made their lives human laboratories. Whatever they found as a result of their experiments, they made it a part of their lives and presented the same to the world. Today there are more detailed explanations and fewer practices.
