Acharya Tulsi
Some people believe that non-violence turns the whole society coward. Then why should it be thought of implanting in every stratum of society? I feel that such thoughts are concocted and lead one to confusion. There is no connection between non-violence and cowardice. A timid man cannot be non-violent. A person who is afraid of death cannot be non-violent. A non-violent person is someone who is fearless and one who is not affected by the fear of death. Then how can it be agreed that non-violence tums a person or a society coward? This confusion arose because in reality some pseudo religious persons had hidden their weakness in the garb of non-violence. The second reason of it may also be due to the fact that violent terrorist groups in their effort to prove non-violence futile may have spread such false notions such as non-violence tums society coward.
In India Mauryan age and Gupta Period are regarded as golden age. In the era Emperor Chandra Gupta and Emperor Ashoka had paid such homage to non-violence that layman cannot afford. We often ignore such historical facts that India had turned coward due to her internal conflicts and mutual hatred, because of mutual differences and conquests India became a slave.
What to say about Maurya’s-India and what to say about India that turned slave after the reign of Vikrama in 10th century, India could be conquered because of cowardice and cowardice came from the diminishing power of society’s division, can a religious leader or apolitical leader retain the power of the state after injecting the differences and discrimination among people of the same culture and lineage?
We must consider the situation judiciously. Those scholars who blamed non-violence for the cause’ of India’s starvation are really in dreams. As this is morally accepted so it is historically accepted, so that one who attacks or kills is not so great than one who is not afraid to die. The second point is that Jainas and Buddhists had a long influence on Indian politics. They had secured our nation and expanded her territory as well. The time when India became slave then Buddhists and Jainas were not there. Even when India was captured, in many states, Jainas had performed the role of warriors and they saved their states from many attacks. So no reality can be found in the statement that non-violence tums a society coward.
