HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NON-VIOLENCE: THE MODERN PERIOD
Introduction
The Mughals and the Concept of No n-violence
Christianity and the Development of Ahimsa
Some Glimpses o f the British India
Buddhism andjainism of the Modern Period
Ahimsa Development of the Renaissance Period
Ahimsa and the Post-renaissance India
Ahimsa among the Present Day Thinkers
Thinkers all over the world are first concerned with the
self-understanding of man. Man wants to know about his own history. In the
light of this history, he determines his own destiny. "There is a belief that
religion holds the key to the mastery of existence. Whatever be thy religion,
associate with those who think differently from thee, if thou canst mix with
them freely and are not angered at hearing their discourse, thou hast attained
peace and art a master of creation."' For understanding man from the earliest
times upta the present, one has to study art, architecture, all kinds of remains,
literature, beliefs, patterns of life, etc. One should also study the meaning and
practice of ahimsa, brotherhood and dharma as the part of the integrated
development of mankind. Hence for understanding man, one has to study
the poems, hymns, concept of ahimsa, religion, belief, tka-&da, the Bible,
the Koran, the Gita, and so on. As the Aryans were gifted with a
poetic sensibility, they ahought deqly on the universe and the meaning of ' d l ' !
human Me. It is apt to be said that I& political, social, religious, cultural
and intellectual systems underwent many changes due to the influence of x j
r , 1 '. 8 :
Hindu rules and the* system of developments. Also the coming of Muslims
and their Islamic work on account of ahimsa and submission to the will of God
did the same. The Hindu social reforms and renaissance, started by Raja Ram
Mohan Roy, Tagore, etc. and the coming of English people and their impact
upon the social, political and educational set-up of prepared the ground r 1' I
, , . for destiny and further developments.
and behaviour accepts the principles of society and prepared themselves to . .
propagate the values namely love, brotherhood, ahimsa and ethical norms &- A >
0
is meaningful to say that we should be non-violent in the deeds and make ube . , ,
dl -bri;for the welfare of the society as a whole. There should have reconciliation ' '
'
,
with the social and cultural systems; also with religious practises. It is true to 5 ( ,
< I I
say that the origin of the society lies in man's realisation that complex I '
:* L,rj~fi. l ~ c G ; . ) ~ , , n n ~ , ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + ~ ' + 1 I , + , u 9 , 6 f di ? . > . selfishness has no place in life. ?he realisahon of man cehhes arohnd selfless
! , .' : I .
activities, ahimsa nations, spirit of love and maturity. In every society, man ,.,, .,,. , *
> + J '
works hard in co-operation with others for achieving his personal and public ( .'
needs.
between
If the society lies in self-sacrifice, then there has b be a harmony //,YLC,d.,
our personal considerations and the good of the society. This 5; , ,
harmony got its shape in the patterns of love, ahimsa and dharrna. It should
be necessary to practice ahimsa in order to achieve the harmonious styles of
behaviour, patterns of life, and co-operative mentality as weU. If a society has "v
to be based on love and mutual trust, that means its people accept
ahimsa-oriented pattern of work for the welfare of all. As a devout believer in
the way of ahimsa, he would not permit any violent struggle among the
people between two systems and of culture,
4 It is the duty of everybody to help themselves in the highest sense to
apply diligently to right pursuits. One must follow the right path advised by
varies religions in order to achieve real happiness and satisfaction in life. ,,The I - . - --
government of a nation is just the reflexof tho individuals' aspirations and
will. But the esteemed values and norms of the society are the manifestation
af the will of the people, responsibles and obligations of theirs and above all
their selfless approach to the rest of the people. Here starts the emphasis on
principles like ahimsa, i,e., to be impartid and just to others in all dimensions.
Non-violent techniques and formulas must be used in order to create the
society into a nova1 one. It is correct to say that national progress is the sum
of individual industry, energy, uprightness, and the ability to accept and
practice values and principles which includes karma, dharma, understanding,
co-operation and ahimsa notions. Individuality and social security are
inter-related. Both of them are nourished out of the character of the individual
and the society altogether. These are definitely derived from the state of mind
filled by certain notions like ahimsa-oriented thinking and actions,
d harma-oriented and practices brotherhood-oriented structure and beliefs.
"The spirit of self-help is exhibited in the energetic action of individuals and it
marked the feature of the character of individuals, society and nation as a
hole."^
The Bible says, "God was happy about the world he had created for
mankind, and God saw all he had made, and indeed it was vely good."4 This
goodness of people lies in the varied factors and conditions of developments
and attitude towards the formulas and principles. One's attitude towards
oneself, others and to the world is very important. Our attitudes are
conditioned by many factors namely, system of education, political
technology, economic conditions, social and moral values, ethics, religious
attitudes, etc. The coming of the British to India, and their spreading of
Christian ideals and English education had changed the outlook and
be haviour of Indians. They taught indirectly ahimsa and brotherhood. The
socio-religious awakening started by Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy,
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan etc. paved the way for the changing outlook of the
Indians by giving up caste feelings and social inequalities. Religions like
Christianity, Islam, etc. taught the significance of the fatherhood of God and
the brotherhod of man in respect of the practices of the principles namely
truth, non-violence, dharma and brotherhood. As Islam aims at establishing
an equilibrium between the spiritual and material aspects of life; Christianity
stands as a midway between social and spiritual attitudes of people. The
rnaral actions include the self-transcendence or Iove and real knowledge. To
rea1ise the m e self is the meaning of Iife. Life inspires us to follow the right
path and non-violent techniques to achieve the full meaning of life. "There is
the element of Divinity present in man and the presence of reason,
conscience, free will, aspeck of ahimsa etc. are the evidence of the presence
of these elements in man."5
6.2 The Mughals and the Concept of Non-violence
"No study has so potent an influence in forming a nation's mind and a
nation's character as a critical and careful study of its past history and it is by
such study alone that an unreasoning and superstitious worship of the past is
replaced by a legitimate and manly adrnirati~n."~ The Mughal rule in India
was a landmark in the social, political, religious, and cultural aspects. They
laid the foundations for the values like ahimsa by Akbar the Great,
brotherhood by Babar, love by Shahjahan and purity by Jahangir. "Looking
at the Grand Mughals from such a stand point, one can easily agree with
S. M. Edwards and assert that they are great men, despite their failings and
frailties, and when one turns from the cold catalogue of their defects to
consider the unique grandeur of Fatehpur Sikri, the supreme beauty of the Taj
Mahal and the Moti Masjid, the magnificence of the Agra and Delhi palaces,
and the rare wealth of pictorial and calligraphic art which owed its excellence
to their guidance and inspiration, one feels inclined to re-echo the words of
the lady Marehale of France concerning a peccant member of the old noblesse
of the eighteenth century; depend upon it, sir, God thinks twice before
damning a man of that quality; the fame which they achieved in their own age
and which will endure, was the natural corollary of their marked
intellectuality. "7
From the time of Babar to Aurengazeb the last Mughal emperor, a
series of changes took place in the spiritual, social, economic and even
political scene of India. Though Babar attempted to conquer the wealth of
India, he was actually non-violent towards the simple people of India.
Towards Hindustan, Babar was considerate even though he fought many
battles. As he was an exponent of Islam, he never bothered about killing or
doing harm to the people. There lies the concept and practice of non-violence
in his personal and public life. He was the man with a purified mind and a
vision which seems to be an example to others in this respect. "Nobles and
soldiers: every man that comes into this world is subject to dissolution. How
much better is it to die with honour than to live with infamy. . . . God most
High has been gracious in giving us this destiny that if we fall, we die martyrs,
if we conquer, we triumph in His Holy cause, let us swear with one accord that
by the Great name of God, we will never then turn back from such a death or
shrink from the stress of battle tiH our souls are parted from our bodies."'
Profoundly the Mughal emperors even though interested in invading India
and booting the economy of ours, keep up the purity of mind and used the
technique of ahimsa and brotherhood to a great extent. The philosophical
concept of equality and ahimsa finds a due meaning and place in the life and
activities of Mughals. It can be revealed in the policies of Hurnayun, Shershah
etc. for a long period.
"As Islam has a still further service to render to the cause of humanity
and it stand after all nearer to the real East than Europe does and it possesses
a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and co-operation. "' This
above-mentioned statement is so apt as far as the policies and reforms of
Akbar the great were concerned. The period of the restoration of the Mughal
empire of India was carried out by him. He was an ardent exponent of
ahimsa. The 'Din-Illahi' of Akbar was the manifestation of brotherhood,
secularism and ahimsa practised by the Mughal rulers. The great monarch
followed a policy of secularism and tolerance. He provides equal treatment to
the Muslims and the Rajaputs. The Mughal period was the age of casteless
and creedless reforms and awakening. His philosophy of life and values
enriched the spiritual and economic life of the Indians. The Bhakti
movements of the Mughal period reveals the significance of brotherhood,
ahimsa, and tolerance practised by the people. Likewise sufisms of this age
laid the foundations for the greatness of dharma and non-violence. The
'Ibath-khana' too acted as an exponent of non-violence. It vitally explains the
meaning of self-surrender to God and the fulfilment of justice, liberty and
mutual consideration.
The Mughal administration presented a vital background for the people
to nourish the elements for proper cultural, educational and political integrity.
The Mansabdari system introduced by Akbar is non-violent and aimed at the
perfection of the life and activities of the Indians. The Mansab or Censor of
public morals inspires the Muslims to lead lives according to the commands of
the prophet and did not indulge in forbidden things. This is certainly the true
projection of the practice of ahimsa, in all walks of life by the Mughals. The
division of the power towards the governmental agents, revenue system,
religious reforms and cultural developments are formed in such a way suitable
to the people of that period. This period was so special for the abolition of
Jaizya, a kind of poll tax. There were no distinction between the Hindus,
Muslims or Christians in the case of taxation, religion or cultural
developments. "The administrative systems of the Mughals were severely
practical and reasonable in connection with revenue, mlitary, justice, religion
and morality."'0 The period of Shersha too reveals how far non-violence
practised by the Mughais and upto which level they secured the popular
support. At every time the Koran inspires the rulers to remain cordial with the
enemies and the various organs of the government. Throughout the public
life, the Mughals preached and practised the positive elements of ahimsa and
brotherhood.
The Great Shahjahan besutified the Mughal India and the minds of
Indians by introducing new techniques in the artistic fields. The Great Taj
Mahd dedicated to Murntaz reveals the feelings of love and affection in a
particular style. Such a broad minded ruler of India definitely created an
atmosphere for selfless senrices, ahimsa-oriented work to humanity and
love-cultural works. "The age of Shahjahan was the most prosperous age
ever known in India . . . . together with a larger share of good government
than often falls to the lot of Asiatic nations."''
"No person is permitted to make or sell wine or any other prohibited
liquor which occasions inebriety, though I myself am addicted to
winebibing." l2 Both Jahangir and Shahjahan profoundly influenced the
cultural history of India. Jahangir was an exponent of justice, he established
twelve ordinances to be observed as a common practice namely prohibition of
ghasbi, prohibition of slaughter of animals on certain days, building of
hospitals and appointment of physicians to attend the sick, amnesty for all
prisoners and so on. All these principles and orders are the manifestation of
the significance of using the technique of non-violence in its various
perspectives by Jahangir in his life. Through out his life he was an exponent
of ahimsa, charity and love.
It was Auranguzeb who was a fanatic but interested in spreading the
idea of non-violence and observing it in his personal life too. This last great
Mughal emperor tried his best to restore and reorganise India for Muslims
only. As Islam stands for love, the concept of ahimsa and the complete
surrender to the will of God at every time was sharply stressed by Aurengazeb.
Though he was an extraordinary figure whose time was filled with enmity and
strain on the one side; love, broadmindedness, and truth one the other side.
But unlike Akbar, he was intolerant towards the Hindus. For example, the
Decan policy of Aurenguzeb was one of the most intolerable ones and
anti-social. In the midst of that, he was the spokesmen of ahimsa and truth.
No doubt, his policies paved the way for Mughd decline, but it encouraged
the Muslim community to change their attitudes and became concerned with
others of the same soil. When we analyse the period of Akbar the great and
Shahjahan we can see their spiritual ideologies and broadmindedness in
connection with culture, religious belief, ahimsa, practice of love, art and
ethical values.
We see that the Mughal period in India was one of the memorable and
influencing one on account of their contributions to the cultural and social
developments of the people at large. Almost all the rulers preached and
practised the principle of ahimsa directly and indirectly which enables the
Indians to restructure and presewe the face of our land.
2.3 Christianityandthe Development ofAhimsa
"Religion means a propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to
man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and of
human life."13 Religion consists of two elements namely theoretical and
practical, a belief in powers highet than man and an attempt to please or
propitiate them. In addition to the interested propitiators and worshippers of
God, the more civilised religions namely Christianity, is noted for producing
saints and mystics who seek communion with and or absorption into
Godhead as the culminating point of their spiritual growth and development.
The chief message of Christianity can be seen from several angles. Its main
theme was fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. It preached the
message of love, ahimsa and sympathy. "Believing the Good News-a total
acceptance of the Good News is conversion which really means a total
transformation in one's outlook or way of thinking."14 If a person comes to
accept the good news of Jesus about God indeed a total transformation will
take place. His outlook and attitude will change. The joy that would fill the
heart of a person when he realises that he is a beloved child of God would
bring with it the real inner freedom. As freedom is the core of Christianity,
everyone will think of his fellow human beings as his brothem and sisters. The
moment one experiences God as a loving Father, one comes to think of all
men and women as the children of the same Father as brothers and sisters
who merit one's love. It is meaningful to say that true freedom gives birth to
fellowship and fellowship implies justice.
The kingdom of God that is born in a person's heart soon envelops the
society. It is the love of Gad, which rules over the people. His will is obeyed
in the heat of the individual and in the society. The notion of ahimsa is seen
in Christianib and especially in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. His very
life is the pure manifestation of ahimsa in all dimensions. He moved among
the poor, sinners, orphans, sick, deserted etc. and also pleased them, cured
them and saved them from their sins and problems. Ail these indicate the very
use of the techniques of ahimsa and love as the part of life. For example, all
the intolerable attitudes will lead to mutual strife and strains but the
co-operative tendencies and brotherhood will lead to jay and the peace of
mind; that is what Jesus taught, and at the same time what ahimsa meant. As
God created man in His own image, all the virtues are showered upon him.
According to St. John, "Jesus declared whoever has seen me has seen the
Father, then again the Father and I are one."15 Christianity is a theistic religion
and belief in God is its important tenet. God according to Christianity is one,
creator, sustainer, judge, Loving Father, the way, the truth and the life. It
taught that no man's life is a bed of roses. Our lives are beset by problems
and pain It is full of sufferings and miseries. In order to overcome all these
problems one should accept the ways of ahimsa, love, co-operation, mutual
understanding, etc. Moreover Christianity advocates the importance of
sharing the happiness and problems with others, then only one can attain
satisfaction and redress from the grievances.
One's attitude to the world is an important factor for proper existence.
The importance we give, the extent to which we decide, and if the ignorance
will determine the attitude towards the world. Here is the significance of
Christianity. What does Christianity teach? What kind of attitude to the world
is encouraged by Christianity? Definitely it advocates the attitude of love,
sympathy, belief in Gad and the state of mind oriented with ahimsa in
understanding and adjusting with world problems. Man should admire,
appreciate and enjoy the world because it is God who made it. God created
the world out of love and made it a home for men and women, every one of
whom was dear to him. "The Bible says that God was happy about the world
he had created for mankind and saw all he had made and indeed it was very
good."16 This attitude of God towards all beings laid the foundations for the
greatness of life which includes the acceptance and practice of certain values
namely ahimsa which assumes many forms like one's own relations with
others, the capacity to love, the mentality of giving and receiving etc. The
expression of truth and love; joy and the spirit of self-existence; ahimsa and
brotherhood occupy a central position in the life of each and everybody.
There must be affinity with the teaching of Christ who is the selfless and
propagate humanistic, loveable and mature ideas among the people of all
community.
The history of Christianity shows how in its great days it was capable of
giving as well as receiving. "As Christ is the second Adam, fhe first born of a
new race of men, who as the spiritual kingdom is spread on earth, he will
achieve a unity of nature and supernatural, comparable to our present union
of mind and animal nature but transcending it as rational life transcends the
sentient life below it."17 The Christian hope is the creation of a new species of
spiritual personality of which the first fruits had already been manifested in
Jesus and the saints. They are the heralds of truth on earth, the instruments of
the Divine for the spread of spiritual religion. When we are prepared to bum
and torture in the name of the love of God, the essence of Christianity got
high esteem. In the name of the love, God has various dimensions to work.
One among the main pillar of Christianity has to be the practice of ahimsa in
our relations with fellow beings, our work with others etc. According to
Christian vision, everything lives and takes effect by reason of being the point
of interaction of two opposite forces. These forces can be mature enough to
understand what the real meaning and relevance of non-violence. In
Christianity, the concept of God as judge and law-giver is changed into loving,
forgiving and redeeming God. As Christianity stands for sacrifice of the self
not any inhuman things, it would help us to get relief to our sins by the
crucified blood of Christ. "Life is a free gift of God and this soul (Atman) is
not to be obtained by instruction, nor by intellect, nor by much learning and it
is to be obtained only by the one whom he cho~ses."'~
The miraculous acts attributed to Jesus is the very theme of Iove,
sympathy, kindness, etc. In the same way we too do miracles by loving our
neighbours, caring for them and to preach among them the importance of
non-violence as the way to reach our life goal. It is apt to say that the
kingdom of God is within us, because where there is love, understanding,
simplicity, man can a w n and achieve the real kingdom or the state of
fulfilment, satisfaction, calmness etc. and these shall give us the real meaning
of the kingdom of God. To obey Ten Commandments means to follow the
real path of Jesus which centres around humanitarian activities, love and
respect, To observe ahimsa in all walks of life or not to do harm to others is
the core of the Ten Commandments. Christianity emphasises the institutional
missionary and ritual aspects concentrating on spirituality, human life, ethics,
etc. It is definitely based upon the principle of truth, love, brotherhood and
ahimsa. Jesus taught these principles through his own life itself rather than
through his teachings. Christianity was the chief religion which inspired men
to be more courageous and strong enough to sacrifice our intentions for the
sake of others. That is the main theme of rmcification and resurrection of
Christ our lard. Man should admire, appreciate and enjoy the world as it is
the gift of God to his loving children who love one another, practice dharma
and non-violence. This Iove is the real essence of Christianity. Ahimsa too is
the nutshell of Christian faith till today and tomorrow.
We see that Christianity, is the sum total of unity, integrity, non-
violence, and even Iove of the people, for the people and by the people. The
life and teachings of Jesus Christ reveal how much it is possible for all the
human beings to practice such a noble principle of truth, love and ahimsa.
Like Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, Christianity rendered social,
cultural and economic services to the humanity by projecting the importance
of love and ahimsa at all stages of development. It is apt to say that we can
see the positive elements of ahimsa and its influence throughout Christianity.
6.4 SomeGtimpses of theBritish India
The all important ideal of liberation consists in the realisation by the
soul of its own purity or essential perfection. The highest perfection or
fulfilment of which man is capable can be attained and enjoyed by him here
in his earthly existence. The rise of British power in India vitally prepared the
ground for the self-realisation and wen the perfection of the mind, activities
and intentions. Foreigners could enter India for several purposes and mainly
through land and sea-routes, From time immemorial India had commercial
relations with the West. In turn the westerners were very much pleased with
Indian economy and the attitudes of the people. The co-operative and non-
violent attitude of India silently invited foreigners especially the British to enter
into India and make it after their own selves. The maritime and naval
supremacy of the Europeans prepared the ground for the India's revival and
re-shcturing in the economic, social, political and even intellectual scene.
Until the close of the fifteenth century, India was almost a mythical country to
the nations of the west. But at that time the Europeans one after another
entered into the scene and tried their best to convert India and Indians in their
own pockets. The Britishers by establishing the English East India Company
in 1600, started the attempt of civilising the people of India and capturing as
much as possible from India. But there have been a notable factor that only
with the attitudes of non-violence, brotherhood and co-operation, they started
the carrier of establishing their authority over India.
The Constitution of British Company in India divided its powers
between three independent presidencies in Bengd, Madras and Bombay.
Each presidency had its own Governor and Council and also the governing
bodies had jurisdiction within their own areas. Jn these procedures of
jurisdiction and control, they followed the policy of non-violence definitely.
When Queen E i b e t h extended the right to start the East India Company, for
the sake of trade and commerce, the method should be non-violent and the
programme should be co-operative. The European community was firstly
interested in imparting English education to the Indians. It had full of
non-violent ideas and they tried their best to introduce organised systems of
technology and scientific developments. "As for the little European
communities, they consisted practically of exiles, many of whom never set foot
again on their native shores after they had once landed in India; or if they did
so, found that the habits they had contracted in the East were not easily made
compatible with western social condition^."'^ The attitude of two British
leaders namely Pitt and Edmund. Burke towards India was quiet non-violent,
compassionate and pure. It reveals the attitude of the British parliament
towards British Indians.
It was Lord Wellesley who was the prophet of subsidiary alliances and
he followed the concept of non-violence in his policies and its formulations.
To save Indians from the many problems, he made negotiations with the
British director generals. Wellesley perceived. the urgent need of educating the
Company's servants in India for the performance of their functions as rulers,
and established a college in Calcutta partly for the same purposes. Ail these
reveal the broadmindedness and ahimsa-oriented view of certain British
leaders in India. Under Lord Warren Hastings British Indian system underwent
sharp changes. His policies towards the Hindus to a certain extent was
pleasing and healthy one. On the other hand, there are certain bad effects
too. Anyhow the British rule in India was the mixture of pleasant and
unpleasant elements. By certain land reforms and settlement programmes,
the British authority reconstructed the face of India. They inculcated among
the Indians the feelings of love, respect, mutual understanding and fellow
feelings. Even though they were stubborn, their policies were nova1 and
feasible to the Indians. They were simple minded and loveable to institutions
and reforming programmes.
One of the great missions of the Britishers in India was to spread
Christianity in the soil of India. As Christianity stands for love, non-violence,
brotherhood and forgiveness it aims at changing the mentality of the people.
As part of their missionary work, they started schools, colleges and other
institutions for providing equal education and knowledge to the people of
India. Tne Hunter Commission provides facilities for English education which
in turn modified and well furnished the outlook of the Indians. The British
leaders of India followed the non-violent attitudes with free outlook in certain
matters. For the sake of their mother country they could follow some cruel
steps. The churches established by Britishers in India reveal the spirit of
tolerance and brotherhood, The Christianisation of the Britishers has been the
mere manifestation of their non-violent attitude and secular feelings towards
the Indians. Fortunately for Indians, Lord William Bentinck played a great
role to restore the people with good fortunes and way of actions. The English
system of education had changed the minds of the Indians and they were
ready to start new reform movements in the soil of India. The English
missionaries paved the way for the reconstruction of Indian thoughts, feelings
and the way of life. The seeds of charity, broadmindedness and courage
sown by the British in India has been based only on the principles of love and
ahimsa.
The Revolt of 1857 laid the foundations for the greatness of India.
Essentially, the lessons taught by them through their education, Christian
doctrines, principles, social system, etc. prepared the ground for the greatness
of ourselves on the one side, and at the same time the destruction of the
British Raj on the other side. The nourishing principle of ahimsa got strength
in the minds and deeds of the people day by day and due to the impact of the
western ideas with simplicity and open-mindedness. Great leaders namely
Lord Canning, A. 0. Hume, etc. are the exponents of ahimsa, philosophical
ideas and peace. They firmly fought for the resurrection of the British Indians
from their pathetic conditions. As the British rule was a mixture of opposition
and oppression, it inspired the Indians to start the struggle for new era of faith,
development and socio-political justice. Added to this the socio-economic
planning and reforming programmes perfected the mind of the Indians and
taught the lesson of love, truth and ahirnsa which are the prescribed ethics for
the attainment of real freedom in the true perspective.
6.5 Buddhism and Jainism of the Modern Period
"Hurt not by word or deed; be consistent in well-doing, be moderate in
food, dwell in solitude; and give yourself to meditation-this is the advice of
Lord ~uddha . "~ ' As we have already seen that Buddhism does not accept the
existence of a Creator God. Consequently, the world cannot be treated as
'creation'. Is it then eternal? Nothing is permanent. Everything is in constant
Heraclitean flux. But instead of that certain values and moral principles
existed and which are permanent ones. They are the values like ahimsa,
dharma, karma, brotherhood and so on. Buddhist principles have great
relevance today because of its stable principles and its assimilation with
modem trends. In the Buddhist sense, dharmakaya means the ultimate reality
which is the support or substratum of the world. But as an abstract entity,
dharmakaya means the indescribable immanent and cosmic entity of the
world. There is the notion of ahimsa and dharrna in the Buddhist philosophy.
They mean the ultimate truth, scripture, doctrine, religion, harmless activities,
doing good to others, righteousness, moral law, and attributes of substances.
"In Buddhism there is significance for Samadhi. Samadhi means training the
whole mind and developing a deep insight by which the mind is withdrawn
from impurities of passion, emotion, attachment and there is withdrawal from
all tempting objects of the world."21 In modem times Buddhist principle of
Nirvana got high esteem. Nirvana is really a state of mind in which state a
jivanmukta means non-individuality that enjoys perfect equipoise.
The peace of mind got the name Nirvana, but Lord Buddha regarded
metaphysical speculation about the self a heresy. This contradictory views
inspire the men of present day world to rethink about the importance and
relevance of Buddhism as a religion, way of life, pattern of behaviour and
ahimsa notions. Moreover each and everybody accepts the concept of
ahimsa preached by Buddhism from time to time. "The gift of the law
(dharma) exceeds all gifts, the sweetness of the law exceeds all delight; the
extinction of thirst overcomes all grieves and pains."22 "The great
invulnerable edifice of humanitarianism built by Lord Buddha on the rock
foundation of ahimsa and cosmic love is indeed his crowning g l o ~ y . " ~ ~ In the
place of degenerated religion of Vedas and Upanishad, the religion of love,
ahimsa brotherhood and universalism came into being. A loving heart can
only afford the tendency for free and non-violent state of activity which is the
new trend in Buddhism. Satisfaction in life can be achieved only by keeping
up the purity of mind, belief and deeds oriented by non-violent techniques
both in the material and spiritual level.
1Rt no man think lightly of evil, saying in his heart it will not come near
unto me. Never does hatred cease by hating, but hatred ceases by love and
ahimsa way of thinking and doing. The immortality of beings can be achieved
by self-conbol, truth, ahimsa, virtues, love, harmlessness and moderate
thinking. According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, "for us in this country, the
Buddha is an outstanding representative of our religious tradition and he felt
his foot print on the soil of India and his mark on the soul of the country with
its habit and conviction^."^^ As Buddhism taught the selfless purposes of the
human beings, it laid the foundations for the development of humanity,
brotherhood, mutual understanding and especially to observe and practice
ahimsa both in the private and public circle. Laziness is a curse to man, but
equality is a reward to man's activities. Buddhism sbessed the evolution of
the society in which each individual enjoys equality of status, work and karma
centred religious and social practices. Buddhism gives more powers to women
and they are the part and parcel of the society. There were ten virtues which
guide the king, people and the society. They are generosity, moral conduct,
self-sacrifice, honesty and integrity, gentleness and politeness, austerity and
simplicity, freedom from hatred and ill will; practice of non-violence, patience
and non-opposition to public welfare. These concepts definitely will lead men
to have happy and integrated thoughts and actions, life long satisfaction and
spiritual happiness.
Jainisrn like Buddhism even though ignored God and denied the
vedas, but admitted the four fold order of society and led a revolt against the
superiority of Brahmanas over the Kshatriyas and decided the four stages of
life, stressing only the life of an ascetic. Jainism stressed the need for practising
ahimsa and self-control. Jainism is associated with the historical figure of Lord
Mahavira who might not have originated Jainism, but has given an
authoritative seal to its principle tenets. Jainism in its modem trend accepts
ahimsa as the central teaching-'ahirnsa pararno dharmah'-and accounts for
the moral conduct of Jaina seekers and Sadhus. As a part of modern concept,
Jainism is dualistic in its essence because it admits the distinction between the
two entities of Jiva and Ajiva. But at the same time it accepts the plurality of
spirits and of atoms, The Jain doctrine of soul is very distinctive because the
karmas like subtle material objects that cling to the soul. It is necessary to note
that Jainism does not preach cowardice. "From a practical religious point of
view, himsa is considered mainly under two heads namely,
'Samka1pi'-intentional and 'Arambhi'+ccupational. Hunting, offering of
animal sacrifice, kiHing for food are the instances of samkalpi himsa,
abstinence from which is possible with no harm to anybody and Arambhi
himsa is himsa committed by a householder in the ordinary course of his
being."25 The vow of ahimsa as laid down in the Jain scriptural works
encourages the modem men to fight against himsa and unnecessary actions.
Thus in every sense ahimsa is the formula of work and life itself in response to
modem Jain thinkings.
Jainism has a great'deal of modem tone in the form of its rationalism.
A Jain thinker Ratna Shekhara, in his book 'Sambadha Sattari' states that
"each man can realise his own self-sameness of the soul by his own efforts
without reference to any supernatuml agency."z6 Jainisrn is a moral code
rather than a religion in the modem sense. It recagnised no supreme being,
but there was a whole galaxy of defined men who had been spiritually great.
Even though Jainism is not opposed to caste, it was very much less hostile
and more accommodating to Hinduism than the other heterodox system. The
spirit of this accommodation is the main reason for the survival of it in India
and outside till today. In Jainism salvation of the Jiva means salvation of soul.
Jiva could inhabit a plant, an animal or a human body. Life or soul, there
w& a plurality of Jivas in the universe, and each one of them was subject to
the law of karma and rebirth and could be saved by knowledge and
meditation. While the ajiva includes matter, time, space, virtue, vice etc.
Jainism accepts the four pillars of karma-samsara-jnana-mukti as its creed. "It
is non-Vedic in the sense that it does not recognise the veda as its religious
scripture, caste distinction, etc. but accepts moksha and not heavenly abode
as the highest human end."27 It is wholly atheistic, which definitely speaks of
its relevance in the modern period.
The words that lead to injury constitute falsehood and one who takes
care to avoid injury through one's own words observes the vows of sathya.
The vows of ahimsa leads to observing non-killing of human and non-human
things far religious sacrifices, and practising ahimsa in the day to day affairs in
words, deeds and thoughts. Jain beliefs and philosophy help the individual to
have better restraint wer the senses and also to observe ahimsa with more
perfection. The special code of conduct has been ordained to the spiritual
perfection and attainment of Nirvana or pure state of the soul. These ideas
and concepts took a great role in the modern period. "Jainism shows a close
affinity with samkhya system and also developed a kind of logic which cut at
the root of all stable knowledge, this logic helps to define the relevance of soul,
existence of tho absolute etc."" According to Jain belief, there are separate
rules of conduct for house-holder, Muni, laymen etc. But all these codes of
conduct centre around ahimsa, love, co-operation, dharrna and
commonhood. Non-attachment towards worldly affairs was the core of Jain
thoughts. It means one should be mature enough to consider all the elements
from the right angle only and leave the weak points and faults without any
prejudices. Above all, Buddhism and Jainisrn stressed the importance of
ahimsa as the core and base of all type of activities of modem man.
6.6 Ahimsa Development of the Renaissance Period
The Indian tradition in religio-philosophic thought is one of the richest
in the world. "Philosophical speculations in India originated in the existential
situation of suffering and in the desire to escape and also from the limitations
imposed by man's finite exi~tence."'~ India is one of the few civilised lands
where philosophies of liberation divorced from theistic belief in a creator God
were expounded. %me of the important philosophers, religious reformers
etc, of the present day world laid the foundations for the renaissance or rebirth
in the concept of man, his relation with God, fellow beings, the act of love, the
practice of ahimsa, abolition of wicked practices and ceremonies which do
harm to the people. "Mankind has witnessed from time to time the emergence
of great saints and savants who have shown us the path of knowledge and
taught us to live an ideal life."30 It was Swami Dayanand who traced the ills of
Hindu society in the caste system and formulated new principles to the Hindus
based on ahimsa and brotherhood. If anybody got irritated, he was given
severe punishment both mentally and bodily, Both Sri Rarnakrishna and his
disciple Swami Vivekananda strongly advocated the importance of ahimsa in
the social and religious sense.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was one of the greatest leaders of world
especially of India who shaped and influenced the course of Hindu
Renaissance in the religious, social and cultural sense. Ram Mohan Roy was a
humanist and bothered much about man's emancipation in all the spheres of
activities. He was the founder of Brahrna Samaj, which hatred the worship of
many gods and of images. The Brahma Sarnaj used the techniques of ahimsa,
devotion to God, brotherhood, etc. It was a return to primitive brahmanism
and promoted the worship of one god, "The God of the Veda is Sat Chit
Anand-He is eternal and dl pervading-He is all intelligent-dl knowing and is
all happiness."31 The Brahma Samaj stands for ahirnsa and brotherhood. It
was Raja Ram Mohan Roy who suppressed 'sati' and allowed the widow re-
mamiage. It was the positive manifestation of ahimsa, i.e., to give justice to
the widows and recagnise their position. It also fought against the rigidity of
caste, child marriage and the concept of untouchability. Ram Mohan Roy
stands for the tribune and prophet of New India. He came forward as a
pioneer of English education and an ardent supporter of ahimsa-oriented
protest and social movements.
An important socio-religious movement that emerged in the 19th
century was the Ramakrishna Mission Movement. Sri Rama Krishna was the
true starting point of the present Hindu renaissance. He tried to understand
and practice not only the religious tenets of Hinduism but also those of Islam
and Christianity, He was a b h a h as well as a jnani. By birth he was a
Bengali and belonged to the brahmana family. He was an advocate of non-
violence. His philosophy of life and teaching are the true manifestations of
ahimsa and love. The Society of Rama Krishna Mission reveals the
significance of ahimsa-oriented thought, action and service to the humanity.
The Ramakrishna Mission and the teachings of pararnahamsa was chiefly a
motive to Swami Vivekananda and his ways of life. Sri Rama Krishna teaches
that God is one, no doubt; but He is also many. "It is the same God that is
realised by following one or more or all of these paths, although He may be
called Bhagvan by the devotees, Atrnan by the yogins, Brahman by the jnanis
or vedastins and so on."32 Rama Kriihna society stands for universal
brotherhood, love, and casteless feeling. It was open to all and it taught the
significance of ahimsa and mutual understanding as the main concern of life.
The universality ernphasises the need for prayer, social work, and
humanitarian activities to whole generations. No doubt Sri Rama Krishna
Paramahamsa teaches the lesson of lave, sympathy, humanism and
non-violence which opened the era of renaissance.
Swami Dayanand Saraswathi was one among the greatest Hindu social
reformers from a Brahmin family of Gujrat who took ideal part in the Hindu
renaissance. Swami Dayanand thought that, "it is the highest duty of parents,
preceptors and relatives to adorn children with good sound education, nobility
of character, refinement of manners and amiability of ternper."% As he was a
great Sanskrit scholar who translated the Rigveda and gave new area of
thought and knowledge to the people. His greatest work was 'satyarth
prakash' or 'the Light of Truth'. He was the founder of 'Aryasamaj' which
stands for giving insight on God, stages of human life, education, ahirnsa,
social reforms, science of government and the fundamental principles of
religion. Modern India owes a great debt to him an account of his social,
humanitarian and religious works to the mankind. As he was a social
reformer, Swami Dayanand based all his teachings on the Vedas. His aim
was to restore society to the brilliant place it occupied in the Vedic age. He
was an opponent of caste system. He stated the division of Hindu community
into several castes was the main cause of spiritual, political and material
downfall of India. Swami Dayanand aimed at teaching people how to lead a
noble life and he stressed the significance of ahimsa as a pattern of life and
behaviour in order to achieve the unity of man. His work contained a direct
appeal to the masses and was anti-brahmanical in the sense. H e rejected the
Christian and Muslim belief in one God, yet defended the worship of one
God. Swami objected to idol worship, untouchability, child marriage and the
subjection of women and also advocated girls' education. His own
philosophy of life has been the manifestation of the real meaning and practice
of ahimsa.
It is no doubt: to say that Swami Vivekananda of Calcutta was an ardent
exponent of ahimsa. He was a man who knew the complete picture of the
social, economic, religious and cultural patterns of India. He also knew the
pulse of the Indians and fought for the integrity and solidarity which is based
on the ahimsa notions. Vivekananda was a participant in the Chicago
religious conference. Vivekananda was a man of spirituality and he was
influenced by the teaching of the cross, Buddha, Brahma Samaj, Upanishads
and Hindu philosophy. All these had its basic concern on ahimsa patterns of
life and activities. "Vivekananda combines in hk thought, abstract monism
and Theism and he is a pantheist and yet God according to him is
personal."34 As God has appointed a time for every body for every activities,
one should accept that and make use of the situations and fonnulas to achieve
the grace of God. Religion, moral values, spiritual ideologies, etc. will enable
the people to fight against evil things to attain the state of mind of peace,
relaxation and realisation. In this respect Vivekananda7s universal religion,
i.e., the acceptance, open mindedness, tolerance and non-violence are really
useful and powerful. "Swami Vivekananda was an epitome of all that was
great and good in India of the past and all that is also potentially great and
good in her."35
6.7 ~ e m a k s a n c e I a c r a a
Indian philosophy is said to be based on what can be called a tragic '-... .
sense of life, some what based upon values like ahimsa, brotherhood,
dharma, co-operation, and also the virtues namely truth, goodness and
beauty. Indian renaissance underwent many changes and completely
changed the mentality of the people as a whole in the social, religious, cultural
and intellectual cum political fields. "The materialism which has become
rampant and threatens the very foundation of our philosophy needs to be
understood fully so that it does not become a negative force and debasing and
this is possible only by understanding the eternal values defined by great <-
spiritual masters, by learning from their teachings and their lifestylesk For
example, the life and teachings of Tagore and Gandhi sharply explains what
the real life means and how it would be possible to put into practice ahimsa,
dharma and wide understanding within a short period of life. In the words of
Gandhi, ahimsa is natural to man and it acts as one of the basic and essential
qualities of he renaissance scholan were of the opinion that non-
violence does not ean meek submission to the will of the evil-doer but it is a / deliberate effort, action and strain to fight for the good of everybody. As India
was blessed with the renaissance spirit, i.e., the spirit of enthusiasm, love,
brotherhood, etc. the chief reason behind it has been the propagation and the
practice of ahimsa by its exponents namely Tagore, Aurobindo, Gandhiji, etc.
A poet philosopher named Rabindmnath Tagore w* a man of high
values, man of renaissance and a man of simplicity. He gives emphasis to
'personal realisation' which aim at practising salkama, ahimsa, maturity, self-
respect, and the exaltation with the God. "The Nobel prize winner for his
'Gitanjdi' asserts that every life is a manifestation of the Absolute and he says
Thou art the sky and thou art the nest as It is true that Man can take
interest in the absolute only when it is hurnanised. The relationship between
man and God can only be a relationship of intense love of an all
comprehensive and powerful feeling of oneness. The concept of love means
to practice ahimsa in the relations with one another. Tagore, an exponent of
ahimsa and love preached the significance of the nature of man, the finite
aspect of man, relations with man and God and human destiny. The ultimate
human destiny is the realisation of the universe in the individual. It: is in other
words means the realisation of self and soul, i.e., the self-consciousness and
soul-consciousness. Likewise, one must not be egoistic or selfish but be
broadminded to accommodate everybody to adjust with nature and be
oriented by non-violent techniques of life. As Tagore does not believe in any
type of gradation, it actually preaches to men the real sense of ahimsa in
word, deed or in thought. Religion is life and existence, it inspires eveyhdy
to follow the right path to attain real satisfaction and salvation. As dharma is
the essence of all religions and even truth, one must be able to follow it and
practice in day to day life. Tagore's religion of man describes humanism as the
just application of the belief that feeling anything as human as the source of
joy and signifies the meaning of life.
The post renaissance period of India was blessed with the life and
teachings of Aurobindo Ghosh of West Bengal. He was a man of high ideals
and values. His philosophy of life is based on the principle of unity.
Dr. Ghosh was an exponent of ahimsa and a worshipper of the Gita. For him
Gita is not a book of practical ethics, but of the spiritual life. According to
Aurobindo, "we are composed of many parts each of which contributes some
thing to the total movement of our consciousness, our thought, feeling, action.
. . . . but we are aware only of their confused and pell-mell results on the
surface."38 Man has divine power and have identity with God itself. All the
performances of man are centred around dharma, ahimsa, karma and even
Vedic principles. He tried to incorporate Truth with reality which is the
mixture of unity and multiplicity. The philosophy of Aurobindo explains the
problems of the universe and speaks about the real existence consciousness,
force, bliss, supermind, mind, psyche and matter. The problem of ignorance
creates suggestions and develops the consciousness of men to settle the
problems in a healthy manner. There is too much of qnphasis on ahimsa and
its proper use in the personal and public life will lead to spiritualisation of
humanity. In his 'Life Divine', Aurobindo talks about the nature of men, the
significance of mind, relevance of God, affinity towards values and the
unconditional surrender to God-Atmasamarpana. Says Sri Aurobindo, "Man
is a transitional being, he is not fmal, for in man and high beyond him ascend
the radiant degrees that climb to a divine supemanhood and there lies our
destiny and the liberating key to our aspiring but troubled and limited
mundane existence. "39
Sir Mohammed Iqbai occupies a unique position in contemporary
Indian Thought. As he was a philosopher thinker, he was fully interested in
the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Iqbal ernphasised the
omnipotence of G d and the ultimacy of Divine Will. Islam stands for the
complete surrender of man to the will of God; he speaks of its relevance by
atlributing ahimsa as a way and technique to attain salvation. He talks about
the ultimate truth and its relevance in the society on account of the practices of
non-violence and dharma towards the fellow beings. As the Koran describes
the reality and Iqbal explains it as 'heart' and heart is a kind of inner
institution or insight. Without proper insight man cannot adjust with nature
and religion or the surroundings. He has his own vision about self. "Our life
in a sense consists of a number of experiences and the word 'self is used to
denote the entity that some how unifies these experiences into one unit.""
Again Mohammed Iqbal, an exponent of ahimsa stressed the significance of
individuality and uniqueness of man. As man is the chosen of G d and the
representative of Gad on earth, he has the right and obligation to live in a
purified and accepted way. This can be possible only if we accept and practice
certain values namely truth, goodness and beauty in connection with
non-violent techniques and beliefs. Iqbal says that it is not possible to have an
idea of the material world through ordinarily sense impression. For the
attainment of perfection man must have identity with matter and to limit ego
and self-feeling. We must be broad minded to adjust with men, society,
values, norms and principles of the world. This process of adjustments lies in
the philosophy of ahimsa, dharma, love, unity with god and unity with fellow
beings.
Both the bodily and the spiritual aspects of man are expressions of
God. Mahatma Gandhi believes in the essential spirituality and goodness of
every man and which will lead to the unity, integrity and harmony of the
mankind. As Gandhi being the chief architect of ahimsa, he taught the people
to observe it not far the sake of any possessive satisfaction but for the
integrated development of the humanity as a whole. The life of Gandhi itself
was the manifestation of the concept of ahimsa. Gandhi himself says, "I have
nothing new to teach the world only to say that truth and non-violence are as
old as the hills and both are unavoidable for the spiritual and material life.""'
It: is true to say that killing or injury to life can be an act of violence only under
certain conditions like anger, pride, hatred, selfish consideration, bad
intention, etc. Any injury to life done under these motives is himsa. Thus the
negative meaning of ahimsa is non-killing or non-injury. But this presupposes
that a non-violent act is free from hatred, anger, malice and the like. Only in a
non-violent state of set-up one can receive motivation and to motivate others *
to achieve the esteemed aims of life. Ahimsa can be practised universally on
one condition that h t h the mind and spirit would be pure and tactful to afford
the varied problems of man in all stages of life. If the divine elements are used
in the right manner, these is no doubt, we have the ability to practice and
propagate the notion ahirnsa without fear or favour.
It was Dr. S. Radhakrishnan who profoundly advocated the idealistic
philosophy as the way to attain salvation. His philosophy of thought was a
synthesis of Advaita Vedanta and the philosophy of Absolute Idealism. The
absolute has to be spiritual in nature, Dr. Radhakrishnan was the believer of
the doctrine of karma which is the determining factor of life. Karma is an
aspect of the soul. In order to perform karma one should practice ahirnsa in
the right sense and to determine its strength by its proper use. As the soul is
metaphysically free, it can be controlled by environmental factors and
self-exercise. Also the souls have separate centres of actions. "All seers,
whatever be their sects or religions to which they belong, ask us to rise to the
conception of a God above Gods, who Is beyond image and concepts who
can be experienced but not known, who is the vitality of the human spirit and
the ultimacy of ail that exists, and this is the highest kind of religion-the
practice of the presence of ~ o d . " ~ ' One's own real faith is religion, one's own
real action is faith, and one's on real faith is life and throughout life should be
necessary to follow the path of ahimsa. Dr. Radhakrihnan, a great modem
scholar who had special esteemed view on religion which is the essence of life,
nature of self which is the experience of life, individuality which is the
uniqueness of man; nature of the world which is the principle of unity; God
which is the omnipotent, dl knowing and supremely good creator of the
world. Human destiny which is the immortality of the soul. Above ail in order
to experience all these aspects of life, we must obsewe ahimsa, i.e., the
non-killing o r non-harming others by word, action or deeds.
e:n you did it to the least of my brethren, you did it to me. The very
meaning lies in the fact that only ahimsa can help men to overcome the
sorrows because it indicates the proper way to live and share as much as one
possesses. The philosophy of idealism taught us what ahimsa really meant.
There must be spiritual and idealistic belief, action and sensation. It is by the y + b . r :. ,:*
work and life of Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati, a~ kl- &. now-a-days we --rk.:,,t q 3 >'
know the depth and width of the importance of ahirnsa to be practised. We c., . :- have all the possibilities to follow their path and to accept their philosophy of LC .- .- I 2-
7 . 3.' Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati is the living exponent of ahimsa, love,
P * '
and welfare in the spiritual sense. To the concept and practice of
non-violence, Justice V. R. Kriihna Iyer gives more stable contributions. The
philosophy of ahimsa in one sense is the product of law so far as Justice
Krishna Iyer is concerned. Among the spokesmen of ahimsa Dr. Raja
Ramanna occupies esteemed place. He intends to save the people and give
them an awareness towards the real meaning of ahimsa in the life by using the
nuclear f~s ion for the creative purposes of the humanity. The teachings of
great men produce the concern of self-control, firmness of mind, energy $0 do
well and acuteness of intellect.
Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati, a well-known poet, philosopher,
psychologist, mystic and an author is today one of the leading exponents of
Advaita Vedanta and other systems of traditional Indian philosophy. Also he
is a spokesman of ahimsa in all walks of life. He has for a long, headed the
Narayana Gurukula and the East-West University of Brahrnavidya-the two
institutions involved in promoting not only universal values, but also a better
understanding among people across the continents. "Guru Nityas 'Love and
Devotion' succeeds in bridging the differences between Eastern and Western
spiritual testaments by assuming that the individual response to God is based
upon common patterns of experience, which are represented in turn by
symbols which communicate through time and across cultures."" It is
impressive to say that the map of human consciousness and spirituality which
are seen in the love and devotion are valuable and a striking one. The
philosophy of lave, ahimsa, knowledge, etc. are the central theme of life and
culture advocated by Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati. He combined the hth ,
values, love and devotion together and reached a conclusion that human life
with varied aspects is not the end in itself but it is the way to attain real
satisfaction and fulfilment of our needs both spiritual and material, It is true to
say that sacrifice is the basic need and it should be non-violent in action, then
only one could attain red happine words of Guru Nitya Chaitanya,
happiness is religion-the real mental satisfaction of oneself and others. This
happiness meant real love, ahimsa, and what is called brotherhood. "In the
bi-polarity of love-life, words like resonance, harmony, reciprocity, flowing,
understanding, caring and reassuring are not only significant, but such states
are to be continuous and are to promote each moment of satisfaction to the
next moment of hopeful assurance.'" This statement explains the philosophy
of love, care and co-operation advocated by Guru Chaitanya together with his , I .
concern for &imsa. . ( J D 1 C fi+ .?.A ++ @<' Y ,' : . ;. f , . : ~ , i , i , '2 rd&o ,
'1 ':&ti& V. R. Kri~hni lyer is an integrated porkality with unity of
theory and practice. He gave a new direction to legal thinking and a new
dimension and social orientation ta it. He provided freedom to the law to
reach the red seekers of justice, i.e., the oppressed people of India. Justice
Iyer has always been known as an activist judge. He studies in depth the root
causes of the malady and tries to solve problem with specific suggestions by
way of preventive remedy. "Justice Krishna Iyer inspired by the teachings of
Karl Marx, Engels and Lenin, influenced by humanitarianism of Gandhi and
consciousness of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; is a unique leader, pleader,
legislator, judge and writer."" As an apostle of ahimsa, he has been in favour
of sparing the life of the offender and believes in the goodness of a man a5 a
natural instinct and treats any sort of deviation as a by-product of social
environment because the man is the victim of circumstances. He gives priority
to basic human dignity which is the part of his concern of non-violence in
thought word and deeds.
According to Justice Kriihna Iyer, "the mission of a judge is not only to
decide a case but to decide with a purpose securing justice to every citizen and
creating a just social order."& The whole life of Krishna Iyer has been a
revolutionary journey against existing injustices and a constant struggle to end
the prevailing socio-economic inequality despite the equality mandate of the
constitution. "His gun of revolution are full of missiles of law directed against
injustices by way of exploitation, oppression and deprivation of rights of the
illiterate and ignorant persons composing majority of the people of our
country."47 It is apt to say that law is what law does and not what law writes in
the books beyond the reach of those behind the bars. Justice Iyer has been so
conscious about the personal freedom of the individual and non-violent
techniques used in the sphere of legal rewards, freedom etc. He extended his
service to the poor by an effective weapon called the law. Legal awareness on
the part of general masses is the basic requirement of the rule of law in the
democratic system adopted by our country.
Sai Baba of Shirdi practised and preached the eternal message of love.
He does not belong to any race, caste or creed or country. He belongs ,to
humanity as a whole. He was a man of high ideals and an ardent supporter
of ahimsa in words, deeds and actions. His teachings resembled that of Kabtr.
To the Hindu he was an incarnation of Hari and to the Muslims Allah. He
believed in simplicity generosity, dharma and ahimsa-oriented life. 'Love,
tolerance, universal benevolence' are the characteristic features of Sai Baba's
faith. To many Hindu devotees Baba was and is God-a living god. He was a
Brahmin born at Hyderabad. After his parent's death, he became a Muslim
devotee and later came across a divine person of very high spiritual
attainment called Gopalrao Deshmukh. Out of this contact, Sai Baba
understood the importance of observing love, dignity of labour, non-violence,
brotherhood etc. He was a man of high spiritual power obtained from his
great Guru. Sai Baba rejected caste and rendered great service to the entire
humanity. "Sai Baba told his disciples repeatedly that Shirdi is far Tarana, i.e .,
saving people and not marana, i.e., killing them."" This reveals the
importance of practising ahimsa, It is true to say that Baba did not appear clr
profess to solve the social, political, economic, religious and other conflicts,
but to give due to adjust with the environments, fellow beings, instttutions and
above a1 to develop the personality of each and every individual. Definitely
our intentions and activities should be centred around non-violence,
benevolence, brotherhod and dharma. The lesson taught by Baba to the
people of all caste and creed is still inspiring through he died in 15th October
1919. Even today Sai Baba of Shirdi is a living reality in the spiritual lives of
millions of Indians to whom he appears in dreams and visions and fulfils their
needs.
Dr. Raja Ramanna occupies a prominent place in the scientific,
philosophical, administrative and scholarly set-up of Indian history. As a well
known scholar, teacher and a musician, today Dr. Rarnanna is a leading figure
in all walks of life and a great spokesmen of ahimsa in his private and public
life. He was born in Bangalore in 1925 on 28 of January. He got Doctorate
in Physics from London Universify. In 1949, Dr. Raja Ramanna joined the
Tab Institute of Fundamental Research at Bombay. In 1972, he became the
Director of Baba Atomic Research Centre. As the greatest Indian Nuclear
physicist, Dr. Rarnanna from 1983-'87 acted as the Chairman of Atomic
Energy Commission in Bombay, and the Director of National Institute of
Advanced Studies in Bangalore.
Dr. Raja Ramanna studied the importance of Nutron Physics and
Nuclear Physics and especially concentrated on 'Nuclear Fission'. As a great
exponent of ahimsa in the scientific field, he advocate the importance of using
nuclear fision and nuclear power for the peaceful activities and creative works
of humanitarian nature and not for any deshctive purposes. This vital
attitude of Dr. Raja Ramanna reveal his sense of honour, outlook on life in
perfected manner and the real meaning of non-violence in the right sense.
This special approach of Dr. Ramanna towards humanity advises to see and
recognise ahimsa as the very basis of all types of scientific, philosophical and
even humanitarian developments. Moreover, he aims at saving India from all
calamities and pressures to develop it become a great world power and to
raise the prestige of India in the nuclear field.
Dr. Raja Ramanna, a great Sanskrit scholar who translated
'Mukundamala' into English and he got the Padma Bhooshan Award. A well
known figure in literature and art, he wan a series of awards namely Swaroop
Bhatnagar Award in 1963; Padma Sree in l%8 and Padma Vibhooshan in
1975. Dr. Raja b a n n a made India the fifth nation in space technology by
making use of new and vital nuclear techniques. His efficiency and devotion
in full swing has been manifested when he got the Mehanath Saha Medal in
1984. This award is extended to those who have made vital contributors to
nuclear research once in every three years. Added to this he got Jawaharlal
Nehru Award in 1983, Omm Prakash Bhesil Award in 1985 and R. D. Birla
Memorial Award in 1986. At the same time, Dr. Ramanna received the
Chairmanship of various international organisations which stand far using the
nudear energy for useful activities alone and this is certainly the chief
conhibution of Dr. Raja Ramanna to the concept and practice of ahimsa.
Notes and References
Yamshi, A Comparative Study of Religions, 1990, p. 2.
G. N. S. Raghavan, Introductory India, 1983, p. 14.
Samuel Smiles, Self-Help, 1987, p. 11 .
U . Munuswamy, Inter Faith Dialogue: The Rys Seminar Papers, 1990,
p. 97.
Basant Kumarlal, Con temporary Indian Philosophy, 1989, p . 105.
S. R. Shama, Mughal Empire in India, 1979, p. 1.
bid., p. 3.
Ibid., p. 23.
U. Munuswarny, Inter Faith Dialogue: The Rys Seminar Papers, 1990,
p. 118.
S. R. Sharma, Mughal Empire in India, 1979, p. 161.
Ibid., p. 257.
Ibid., p. 192.
N . R. Devaraja, Humanism in Indian Thought, 1988, p. 17.
U. Munuswamy, Inter Faith Dialogue: The Rys Seminar Papers, 1990,
p. 100.
Yamshi, A Comparative Study of Religions, 1990, p. 86.
U. Munuswamy, Inter Faith Dialogue: The Rys Seminar Papers, 1990,
p. 97.
K. Chellappan and R. Sundara Raju, A Radhakrishnan Reader, 1990,
p. 119.
Yarnshi, A Comparative Study of Religions, 1990, p. 321.
Arthur D. Inres, A Shod History of the British in India, 1902, p. 57.
Shashi Ahluwalia, Spiritual Masters from India, 1987, p. 37.
Yamshi, A Comparative Study of ReIigions, 1990, p. 2 1 7.
Shashi Ahluwalia, Spiritual Masters from India, 1987, p. 39.
Ibid., p. 33.
Ibid., p. 40.
U. Munuswamy, Infer Faith Dialogue: The Rys Seminar Papers, 1990,
p. 58. rn
Yamshi, A Comparative Study of Religions, 1990, p. 237.
Ibid., p. 236.
K. M. Munshi, The History and Culture of Indian People, 1976, p. 424.
N. K. Deva Raja, Humanism in Indian Thought, 1988, p. 9.
Shashi Ahluwaiia, Spiritual Masters from India, 1987, p. 241.
Shiv Kurnar Gupta, Arya Samaj and the Raj, 1991, p. 101.
Shashi Ahluwalia, Spiritual Masters from India, 1987, p. 255.
Shiv Kumar Gupta, Arya Samaj and the m, 1991, p. 3.
Basant Kumarlal, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, 1989, p. 5.
Shashi Ahluwalia, Spiritual Masters from India, 1987, p. 270.
Ibid., p. 1.
Basant Kumarlal, Con temporary Indian Philosophy, 1989, p .50.
bid., p. 181,
Shashi Ahluwalia, Spiritual Masters from India, 1987, p. 339.
Basant Kumarlal, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, 1989, p .32.
Ibid., p. 107.
Ibid., p. 286.
43. Nitya Chaitanya Yati, love and Devotion, 1979, p. 1.
44. Ibid., p. 86.
45. Moo1 Singh, Justice lyer 's Jurisconscience, 1993, p . 1.
46. Ibid., p. 7.
47. Ibid., p. 7.
48. Shashi Ahluwaiia, Spiritual Masters from India, 1987, p. 309.