Acharya Tulsi
Indian philosophy is deeply rooted in spiritual soil. The soul of spiritualism is non-violence. Non-violence is the core essence of every religion. The religion which does not advocate non-violence cannot offer any, relief to anybody. A religion without non-violence is almost like a body without life. So much glory of non-violence has hitherto been sung but to materialize it or to practically implement it in one’s daily life may and will have some barriers to combat with. The description and definitions may extend to the point where even the centre disappears. From a certain point of view, it is a royal path. From a different point of view it is a labyrinth which is surrounded by deep gorges on both sides. When a mountaineer climbs a stiff cliff then every moment he is encountered with a peril of falling on to the gorges on either side. Even if he is distracted for a second he may slip off. Then there would be no trace of his existence. To tread on the path of non-violence is like walking over a razor’s edge. In a situation like this how could a person gather enough courage to walk over it?
When it holds true that the path of non-violence is very difficult to walk through but it is equally true that without stepping ahead over it no one can become great. The world history bears testimony to the fact that whoever had become great had to take refuge in nonviolence. Without its support one cannot even have inkling what greatness is all about. Keeping the greatness and practical implementation of it in mind it becomes imperative then it must have a moral and universal interpretation which will make it well integrated and well defined.
Before I define and analyse what non-violence is I would like to give a few synonyms of it. There is a long series of synonyms for the word non-violence. Each word speaks of its glory and in itself carries the significance of it.
In the present context I would not merely like to make a journey with the words so I am making a brief enlistment of the words that has impressed me both implicitly and explicitly.
A name for on-violence is ‘Nirvana’ in the long lineage of Nirvana tradition of India, setting oneself free from all entanglements has been the only aim; of man. In this state a person becomes e from every sorrow, anxiety and worldly concerns. He is in utter solitude and attains to unperturbed tranquillity.
Another name for non-violence is ‘Samadhi’. The human society is affected by all kinds of problems for which it looks for a solution. There are certain problems which are inner and certain problems that are mundane. Non-violence provides solution to all these problems and gifts health which is why it is named as ‘Samadhi’ (Samadhi comes from a word samadhan that means solution)
Power is yet another synonym that stands for non-violence. Those who deem non-violence to be the armour of the cowards are unaware of the preventive power that it contains. No word can express the glory of it and ‘it remains unaffected by anything.
Non-violence also gratifies a human being so from this point of view satisfaction or contentment can be another synonym of it. With violence the desire are extended and leads a person to the direction of insatiable grief. Contentment therefore indicates a state of inner tranquillity.
The word compassion inherently carries the sense of empathy which is not merely confined to physical protection but goes beyond it. It carries one beyond the sphere of physical existence and gives rise to soul.
The realization of non-violence is the greatest realization in life which is why it establishes the truth of realizing something. One who attains to non-violence attains to all other realizations as well.
The word celebration indicates a certain mental extension or happiness. A non-violent man never feels disappointed or depressed. Therefore the word celebration is more appropriate a synonym for non-violence and more pragmatic at the same time. The word assurance represents the power generated by practicing non-violence that assures uncountable living creatures consolidating their consciousness and preventing them from falling in the abysmal depth of misery and provide relief.
Non-violence breaks all the walls of mutual doubts and establishes a steadfast faith that inspires one to move ahead. From this point of view belief or faith can be another synonym of it.
Fear is the greatest violence of all. A fearful man can neither be healthy himself nor can he provide health to his environment. A man in a state of fear loses his power of reasoning and fails to discriminate between good and evil. It, therefore, becomes imperative for a man to strive hard to become fearless. This state of fearlessness is non- violence.
After the description of certain synonyms of non-violence at considerable length it becomes clear how effective the realization of it could be for mankind. The progress of human civilization and culture rests upon non-violence alone. It becomes necessary them to give it a value worth life.
