Dr. Sulekh Chand Jain
There is nothing so small and subtle as the atom or any element as vast as space. Similarly, there is no quality of soul more subtle than non-violence and no virtue of spirit greater than reverence for life.
(Bhagwan Mahavir)
Whether conscious of it or not, every individual person is on a spiritual quest. Every man and woman has emotional and bodily desires; each has beloved family and friends; each naturally seeks to find comfort and avoid pain. The spiritual quest has everything to do with how we respond to these desires.
Specifically, we have two choices. We can choose to focus on our own good - letting pursuit of our own pleasure and convenience be our god - or we can focus primarily on the good of others. Then, as we learn lift our eyes beyond ourselves toward others, we face a second choice: will it be only the good of our friends and family that we live for, or will it be the good of all living beings?
The heart of An Ahimsa Crisis is about these two choices.
Many people today devote their lives to their own pleasure and gain, without regard for the costs to other persons and other living things. By contrast, the Jain way of life calls each one to set aside his or her ego and self-interest. No religion, East or West, has grasped the radical nature of this call as fully as has the Jain tradition. To escape from karma, to embody compassion, we must live in such a way that no living thing is harmed and that the good of others is advanced by our lives. The life that does no harm is the life of ahimsa. Each of us must decide. Recall the classic poem by William Arthur Dunkerley
To every man there openeth a way, and ways, and a way, And the high soul climbs the high way, And the low soul gropes the low. And in between, on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro. But to every man there openeth a high way and a low; And every man decideth the way his soul shall go.
Truly a vast range of responses is open to us. The “high souls,” sadhus and mahatmas, renounce personal and bodily desires to a remarkable extent. Others, seduced by the comforts of wealth, seem to lose all sight of the needs of others, focusing increasingly on themselves. Most of us “drift to and fro” somewhere in between, inspired by the ideal of ahimsa but taking only baby steps in that direction.
As the Taoist sage Lao Tzu wrote, “He who controls himself controls the world.” If you want to know the spiritual maturity of a country, culture, or age, ask about where its people are along the path toward ahimsa … and in which direction they are moving. As are the people, so also is the age.
Dr. Sulekh Jain writes with the wisdom of one who has traveled the world and observed the lives of its inhabitants over some eight decades. He sees much that is encouraging, and in these pages he shares inspiring stories that will bring tears to your eyes. But Dr. Jain also recognizes tendencies in our age - in India as well as in the West - that are deeply troubling. Above all else, he sees, the spiritual malaise of our age is reflected in the myriad forms of violence (himsa) that we inflict on other living beings in both blatant and subtle ways.
The book in your hands burns with a message of hope. The spiritual traditions of the world offer at their core a common call to compassion. Among them all, one in particular offers wise council to men and women in a world addicted to violence. The ancient Jain tradition, more clearly than any other tradition in humanity’s history, has placed the practice of doing no harm, ahimsa, at the very center of attention. Through the ages monks and nuns, but also ordinary Jain men and women, have learned to recognize the roots of violence in their thought and action and, becoming enlightened, to take steps toward self-transformation. Jain teachings offer time- tested techniques for developing inner ahimsa, until it fills one’s whole being and flows outward for the sake of all living beings.
In every religious tradition one finds a struggle between narrow (safe) and broad (spiritual) interpretations. When the ancient Jewish people were tempted to reduce their religion to a simple legalism, their greatest rabbis, among them a rabbi named Jesu, reminded them that the heart of the Law is the love of God and of neighbor. Similarly, Dr. Jain holds before us here what he calls “ahimsa beyond food and adornments.” The true practitioner “strives to practice ahimsa in everything, consistently, both inside and outside the temple or place of worship. “ Perhaps the whole book is summed up in these momentous sentences:
The teachings of ahimsa refer not only to wars and visible physical acts of violence, but also to the violence in the hearts and minds of human beings, their lack of concern and compassion for their fellow human beings and for the natural world. Ancient Jain texts explain that violence is not defined by actual harm only, for this may be unintentional. It is the intention to harm, the absence of compassion, that makes action violent. Without violent thought there could be no violent actions. When violence enters our thoughts, we should remember, “You are that which you intend to hurt, injure, insult, torment, persecute, torture, enslave or kill.”
In one sense, Dr. Jain does nothing more than to remind us what has always been the heart of the Jain way of life. Lord Mahavira taught that all plants, animals, and humans have a jiva, a living soul. All are of equal value, deserving our respect and compassion. Doing violence to any one of them is himsa, and himsa creates karma. The Jain view of reality is called paras-prop-graho-jivanam in the sacred texts, which Dr. Jain beautifully interprets as “all life forms are bound together and dependent on each other for their support.” In a sense, the ecological worldview is a rediscovery of this ancient Jain teaching.
In another sense, however, this book accomplishes something far more significant. Not only does it call Jains back to their true heritage; it also shows how the pursuit of ahimsa is relevant to all human beings: Indian or Western, Hindu or Christian, atheist or believer in God. As Dr. Jain writes, “To injure any living being in one’s thought, speech, or action constitutes violence, or himsa… Harm caused by carelessness [or ignorance, we might add] is as reprehensible as harm caused by deliberate action.”
For hundreds of years Jains have defined themselves by their ethnic heritage, their language, and their unique culture within the diversity that is India. But if ahimsa is the heart of Jainism, then Ahimsaks across the globe are Jains at heart. Religions that place non-violence at the center are brothers and sisters: the “peace traditions” within Christianity, such as the Mennonites; Quakers, with our strong commitment to non-violence; most serious Buddhist practitioners; and many, many others, whatever their race or creed. At the heart of this book is a truly revolutionary claim:
At the deepest spiritual level, Jainism is nothing more - but also nothing less - than the way humans must live when we realize that all living things form a single interdependent web of life. What was revealed by Lord Mahavira and practiced by innumerable Jain sadhus through the centuries, we now recognize, is the goal and ideal toward which all humans must strive. In our day, Jainism has become the world religion. All enlightened persons must be Jains in this, the broadest sense of the term.
To recognize the himsa in one’s own heart and gently, step by step, to eradicate it from thought and action, as the Jain sages have taught - this is the very center of the spiritual quest. In these days when humans are rapidly destroying Mother Earth and her ecosystems, it is also the only course of action that will save the planet. No science, no laws, no doctrines will replace the transformation to non-violence at the core of one’s own being.
For Jain families, both in India and in the diaspora, the “ahimsa crisis” will be a matter of deep concern. May you find the most beautiful parts of your own tradition reflected back to you in these pages, like a flawless mirror; and may it inspire renewed commitment and pride in your being Jain. For non-Jains, the ahimsa crisis represents a moving and powerful invitation. May you come to recognize that, although the heart of all spiritual practices is compassion, the hands and feet and face of compassion is ahimsa. Harm no living being, in thought, word or deed, for truly all are of value in the one web of life.
One who neglects or disregards the existence
Of earth, water, fire, air, vegetation and all other lives
Disregards his own existence
Which is entwined with them.(Lord Mahavir)
Philip Clayton, PhD
Former Dean and Provost,
Claremont School of Theology,
Claremont, California, USA
