The Jain Principle of Ahimsa (Nonviolence) and Ecology
This is the revised text of a lecture delivered at theInstitute of Oriental Philosophy on November 30, 2012

Sohan Lal Jain Gandhi

Crumbling Ecosystem and HumanityThough ahimsa, the basic tenet of Jainism, has been in vogue since
the Age of Lord Rsabhadeva, the first Jain Tirthankara (Jina or path­finder) of this cycle of time, who it is believed, was born thousands ofyears ago, it shot into prominence with the advent of Gandhi in thetwentieth century who used it successfully as a weapon to compel the
Britishers to quit India and give her freedom ultimately.
The crumbling ecosystem of the planet earth and its rapid environ­mental degradation have once again attracted the attention of theconcerned citizens all over the world recently towards the nonviolent
Jain tradition and its principle of ahimsa. I would define, analyze andelucidate the Jain principle of ahimsa vis-a-vis the present crisis thatthreatens the extinction of life in the foregoing paragraphs, but it will bein fitness of things if I first give my own perception and assessment of
the precarious situation precipitated by man’s callous attitude andcruelty towards nature and his unrestrained lifestyle rooted in sheer
pomposity, ugly exhibitionism and in his desire to monopolize all
resources of the planet and use them for amassing wealth and make hislife most comfortable. This human tendency is responsible for thisunprecedented scientific, industrial and technological advancement
which may have brought prosperity to a few people but have pushed
billions of people to near starvation and abject conditions following thedestruction of nature which sustains all life forms. It has also resulted in
the wiping out of many species vitally important for human survival.
The biologically diverse forms of life on this planet are exposed to therisk of annihilation. All life-forms are interdependent and intercon­
nected. Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of the Jain tradition stated
two thousand five hundred years ago ‘parasparopagraha jivanam’—alllife is bound together by mutual cooperation and support. But man who
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is the most intelligent creature among all the species has exceeded his
limits to the disadvantage of animals, birds, forests, mountains andstreams.
Civilizations evolved in similar technological stages do seek toimprove well-being, they often bring an illusory sense of power andseparation from nature and erode basic values that encoded sustainable
practice. Moreover, the oldest styles of human culture are still with us
like nomadic pastoralist and peasant farmer who persist alongside themegacities of modern life. Though great civilizations have repeatedly
failed, these simple technologies survive. ‘Only’ when war, famine andenvironmental collapse strike, do we understand, too late, our depend­ence on nature and on peace—the ecological imperative. According toJames Lovelock, the celebrated scientist who thinks that planet earth isgravely ill regards the planetary life as a whole self-regulating organism
living amid the web of interdependent species and the traces of past
lives. We cannot conquer nature without defeating ourselves. Recogni­tion of this truth is fundamental to survival of life on this planet. James
Lovelock has named this entity of self-regulating organism Gaia after
the ancient Greek Goddess of the Earth. Another eminent scientist of themodern age Fritj of Capra says in his recent book—The Turning Point:
We have lost touch with our biological and ecological base more thanany other civilization in the past. This separation manifests itself in a
striking disparity between the development of intellectual power,
scientific knowledge and technological skills, on the one hand, and of
wisdom, spirituality and ethics on the other hand.

The ecological and environmental crisis that grips us today is of ourown making. We have ignored the principle of ahimsa in our day-today
dealings. The web of relationship between humans and non-humans has
been disrupted only because our behavior towards non-humans isexcessively violent.
The Jain principle of ahimsa is an ecological ethic. Though equallyimportant are the other four principles of Jainism viz. non-stealing,
truth, aparigrah (non-possession) and brahmcharya (abstinence fromsexual lust), they are more or less there to strengthen the principle ofahimsa only.
Ahimsa is the highest point of the development of human civilizationand culture. Himsa (violence) is inextricably intertwined with humanlife but it is not considered a part of its development. More and more
people in the world now realize the importance of ahimsa for human

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survival in the wake of the two nuclear holocausts that took the toll of
two million lives in the forties of this century and the phenomenal riseof violence in the form of ethnic, religious and political wars andconflicts dotting the length and breadth of the globe today. Humanity
seems to be heading fast for disaster as we see it plunged into chaos andanarchy.

Violence : Definition and Causes
Before we analyze the causes of violence, let us first try to understand as
to what we actually mean by violence. Examples of physical violence
need not to be explained as they are universally known forms ofviolence since these examples describe just one aspect of violence. The
noted Jain scholar Umasvati has defined violence in Tattvartha Sutra in
the following words:‘pramattayogat pranauyaparopanam himsa’(Taking life away out of passion is violence)

Passion includes the powerful emotions of anger, pride, deceipt andgreed or we can say that an injury to life motivated by passion isviolence. If an injury is caused without deliberate intention, it does notof itself constitute an evil act since it is not accompanied by any feelingof attachment or hatred. As social beings we cannot escape violence inits totality so the Jain scriptures advise the shravaks or votaries to atleast refrain from unnecessary violence and follow ANUVRAT (basicvows). The acts of violence that we see in society today are beingcommitted out of intense feelings of hatred, possessiveness, jealousy,
carnality. Violence first arises in thought and is poured out verbally i.e.
in words. When the passion grows uncontrollable, it leads to ghastly
physical violence. Hence, whether it is the unrestrained use of water, air,plants, vegetables or the unrestrained destruction of forests to satisfy
one’s limitless greed, the origin is the mind of man. Deeply concerned
about the tide of violence closing in on humankind, Robert Muller—thethen former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and the
Chan­cellor Emeritus of the University for Peace Costa Rica suggested
that a commission consisting of Heads of State should be appointed by
the UN to deal with all forms of violence in the world today: physicalviolence, verbal, visual and mental violence. It should deal with vio­
lence against children, in families, in communities, in the streets, among
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including violence against our brothers and sisters, animals and violence
which prevail at this moment in the world. Late His Holiness Acharya
Mahapragya, a noted Jain thinker and head of Swetamber Terapanth
Jain sect says:
Both violence and nonviolence inhere in us. Our mind also works in two
ways: one dictates anger; the other counsels patience, puts the brakes
on anger. Both the instigating and the restraining tendencies are there.
Good and evil are both present in us. The real question is which of thetwo we shall develop. Which one shall we awaken and which one shallwe put to sleep?

He further opines that the violence prevalent in society cannot be put
an end to without developing spiritual nonviolence. It is based on theunity and equality of all souls—souls of all sentient beings on thisglobe.

Ahimsa (nonviolence) in Various Faiths
All religious traditions of the world agree that ahimsa alone can be thebasis of our survival. In Dhammapada, a Buddhist sacred text, it isstated, Ahimska ye munayo nichham koyen sanvutta: te yanti achutam
thanam yatth gantva na sochre (He who lives a life of self-restraint
rooted in ahimsa attains to the state of immortality. After achieving it hewill never experience sorrow). The Vedic culture begins with the life ofactions and enjoyment and proceeds towards the life of austerity andrenunciation, but the shramanic culture originates in renunciation fromthe very beginning. In Manusmriti, written by Manu—the celebrated
personage regarded as the representative man and father of human race,
we come across many slokas (verses) which confirm the principle ofcomplete nonviolence for living the good life. At one place it is statedindriyanam nirodhen ragdweshkshayen cha ahimsaya cha bhutanamm­rittvaya kalpate (By controlling sensual desires, renunciation of
attachment and enmity and observance of ahimsa, a sanyasi (ascetic)
attains liberation (moksha).
Thus, even Vedic and Upnishadic culture emphasizes the observanceof ahimsa in our life. In Mahabharata, it is said: ahimsa sakalo dharmo
himsa dharmstthahitah—(Ahimsa is in itself a complete religion andhimsa [violence] is a great sin).
The Persian holy scripture AVESTA (JUDAISM) lays down threekinds of duties for human beings:

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the jain principle of ahimsa (nonviolence) and ecology(i) to turn our foe into a friend.
(ii) to change a wicked person into a righteous human being.
(iii) to change an ignorant man into a knowledgeable and learned person.

Treating a foe like a friend depends entirely on the principle of ahimsa.
In the Old Testament we come across, Ten Commandments which
express the ideal of man’s duty to God and his neighbour by which
Moses organized and led the Israelites into nationhood and are the basic
tenets of the Jewish religion. Christians accept the Decalogue, together
with Christ’s example and teaching, as the basis of their morality. The
sixth commandment says ‘Do not kill anyone’. These commandments
also forbid adultery, stealing and lust.
Jesus said:
Ye have heard that it was said, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for atooth”, but I say unto you, resist not him that is evil but whosoeversmiteth thee on thee right cheek turn to him the other also. And if any
man would go to law with thee and take away thy coat, let him have thy
cloak also (Matt. 5:39–40). Jesus continues, “Love your enemies—prayfor your prosecutors, so that you may show yourself true sons of yourFather in Heaven, for lie makes His sun rise on bad and good alike andmakes the rain fall on both upright and wrong doers, for If you love
only those who love you, what is there remarkable in that?”

In the Christian tradition love is synonymous with God or what wecall ahimsa. The concept of nonviolence differs in its observance invarious traditions. Some go to an extreme length while others adopt a
middle course in solving day-to-day problems, keeping in mind thespirit of equality, brotherhood, love and purity of character. The Islamicview of nonviolence differs in that it gives full consideration to humanweakness. The Holy Quoran says :We ordained
For the children of Israel
That if anyone slew
A person—unless it be
Murder for spreading
Mischief in the land—
It would be as if
He slew the whole people
And if anyone saved

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a life.
It would be as if hesaved the life of the whole
people. (5:35)

The teachings of LaoTse and Confucious emphasize austerity andsimplicity in life. LaoTse exhorts his followers to heal the wounds ofviolence by love and compassion. Confucious asks people to exercise
restraint in their behaviour. He says:“Cause the flood of love in the stream of life and disseminate themessage of friendship.”Gandhi and Ahimsa
Gandhi’s legacy of ahimsa has created a deep impact on the world. He
demonstrated to us the immense power of ahimsa by using it as aneffective weapon to achieve independence for India without shedding
blood. He was deeply influenced by the Jain scholar Raichandbhai.
Gandhi has written,“For me there is no religion other than the religion of truth, no duty
other than ahimsa. Ahimsa is the greatest religion for me. I can say withassurance, as a result of my experiments, that a perfect vision of truth
can follow a complete realization of ahimsa.”

Gandhi lived ahimsa in his life. According to him, violence is bred byinequality, nonviolence by equality, I quote Gandhi’s own words again
to elucidate his concept of nonviolence:
Identification with everything that lives is impossible without selfpurification; without self-purification the observance of the law ofahimsa must remain an empty dream. But the path of self-purification is
hard and steep. To attain to perfect purity one has to become absolutely
passion-free in thought, speech and action; to rise above the opposing
currents of love and hatred, attachment and repulsion.

The Jain Principle of Ahimsa
Jainism is one of the most ancient of Indian religious traditions. It isalso the oldest non-Vedic school of thought. The word ‘Jaina’ is taken

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from ‘Jina’ which means conquerors or victors. Those who destroy all
the bad karmas through austerities, penance and practise and observe thevow of ahimsa (nonviolence) in its totality i.e. do not react to any formof provocation or physical injury inflicted upon them in words, thoughts
and in their actions become arhats. Jains are the followers of Jinas—thetwenty-four Tirthankars. The first Tirthankar was Lord RISHABH andthe last Tirthankar was Lord Mahavira (500 years BC). The Jain
view of nonviolence enjoins its followers to refrain from indulging inviolence in thought, word and action. It believes in the equality of allliving beings and in the state of equanimity. Ahimsa results from theequanimous state of mind. Ahimsa in the Jinist tradition means
reverence for all forms of life and avoidance of violence in thought,
word and deed. A Jain ascetic observes ahimsa in its totality himself. He
doesn’t encourage others to resort to violence in thought, word and deed
nor does he endorse it in thought, word and deed. In Acarang Sutra
ahimsa has been proclaimed in the following words:
Injurious activities inspired by self-interest lead to evil and darkness.
This is what is called bondage, delusion, death, and hell. To do harm toothers is to do harm to oneself. “Thou art he whom thou intendest to
kill! Thou art he whom thou intendest to tyrranize over!” We corrupt
ourselves as soon as we intend to corrupt others. We kill ourselves assoon as we intend to kill others. Ahimsa sprouts from a person’s inner
awakening. It conveys many things simultaneously whereas the word
‘nonviolence’ only indicates abstinence from physical violence.

The Jain principle of ahimsa cannot be understood in its rightperspective unless we have a clear insight into the Jain concepts of jivaajiva (animate and inanimate), asarva-bandha (influx and bondage),samvar-nirjara (inhibition of instincts and impulses and total uprootingof instincts and impulses) and moksha (emancipation resulting fromsamvar and nirjara. Just as the famous four noble truths of Buddhism
namely, suffering, cause of suffering, emancipation and the path leading
to emancipation admits that if there is suffering in this world, there isthe cause of suffering and there is a cure, a way to end this suffering andattain nirvana, similarly the Jains believe that the world is full ofsuffering and the cause of suffering is himsa (causing injury to jivas—
all forms of life) which includes causing actual physical injury to jivas
or causing injury through unpleasant and violent words or thoughts. As
a result of himsa (violence) in thought, word and deed, there is influx ofkarmic matter which adds to the misery and suffering of the jivas whothe jain principle of ahimsa (nonviolence) and ecology

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indulge in it in the present life and in the life hereafter and causes
karmic bondage leading a jiva to be born in different species in accord­
ance with the nature of his crime and criminality and in order to destroy
the karmic bondage a jiva has to repent of his himsa by nirjara i.e.
austerities, penance and observance of complete nonviolence (ahimsa)
and equanimity of mind and by undergoing rigorous forms of selfsuffering and ultimately it will attain to moksha (liberation from thecycle of death and birth).
Lord Mahavira has classified jivas (all forms of life on this planet)
into six categories. The very discussion on Jain concept of ahimsa ismeaningless unless we perceive the most subtle and complex structureof living organisms on this planet. According to him, the entire planet isnothing but a mass of living organisms. His theory of jiva is calledshadjivnikaya [six forms of life i.e. prathvikaya (earth), apkaya (water),askaya (fire), vayukaya (air), vanaspatikaya (vegetation) and traskaya(mobile living organisms)]. The other philosophers do not recognize
earth, water, fire and air as living organisms, but according to Mahavira,they are. It will be useful to reproduce the dialogue between Lord
Mahavira and his disciple Gautam:
Gautam—On being attacked what sort of pain does the earth-bodyexperience?

Mahavira— Gautam! suppose a young and strong man hits an old andfeeble person on the head with both his hands, what sortof pain does the old man feel on being hit on the head byboth the hands of the young man?
Gautam—O Lord! the old man would feel excruciating pain.

Mahavira— O Gautam! on being attacked the earth-body feels much
more pain than that experienced by an old man.

Other religious traditions enjoin their disciples to show compassion
towards animals and human beings while some others also agree thatvegetation has life and trees and plants feel pain when touched or hit but
none of them would believe that the earth or water or air or fire are also
living organisms.
Mahavira advises his ascetics to be careful and vigilant and not tocause injury even to earth-bodies, fire-bodies, water-bodies and airbodies. A Jain ascetic is supposed to refrain from indulging in violence

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towards all six kinds of diverse forms of life on this planet. Mahavira’s
principle of shadjivanikaya is unique. In a way we can even call it
something transcendental. Acharva Sidhsen has written referring to
Mahavira:“O venerable one! Your doctrine of shadjivnikaya alone would suffice toestablish that you are omniscient. No other proof is required.”

Truly Mahavira’s spiritual perfection and the dawn of ahimsa in him
enabled him to attain cosmic vision.
Mahavira’s ahimsa is all encompassing and recognizes the right ofexistence for all jivas (souls) whether they are earth-bodied or firebodied or water-bodied or air-bodied or mobile creatures. All jivas (lifeforms) are equal. If a householder finds it impossible to refrain fromhimsa in its totality for his survival, he should be absolutely clear in his
mind that he is doing himsa and should ask for the forgiveness of thejivas being killed for his sustenance.
He devised a separate code of conduct for his votaries based on basicvows (anuurats) which enjoins on them to practise self-restraint andtolerance. For ascetics the five-fold path consisting of the five greatvows (mahavrats), ahimsa (nonviolence) in thought, word and deed,truth, non-stealing, brahmcharya (the practice of chastity in thought,
word and deed) and non-acquisitiveness (aparigrah) is a path ofcomplete renunciation of himsa in any form. While the aim of an ascetic
is to attain to liberation (moksha), the aim of a Jain householder is to
move progressively towards the attainment of liberation. The ecologicaland environment degradation that has posed a grave threat not only tothe existence of humanity which is at the root of the crisis but also toother species of the planet which are facing great difficulties and arealmost on the verge of annihilation can be checked even at this stage if
the scientific community studies the basic principles of Jainism andadvises the people; to switch over to the Jain lifestyle rooted in ahimsa.
Mahavira says to his disciples:“The Arhats (venerable perfect souls) of the past, those of the present
and the future narrate, discourse, proclaim and assert that one should
not injure, subjugate, enslave, torture or kill any animal, living being,organism or sentient being. The doctrine of ahimsa is immaculate,
immutable and eternal.” He further said, “Those who resort to andremain engrossed in violence suffer (the miseries of) transmigration
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Thus, the Jain principle of ahimsa is based on the theory of shad­jivnikaya (six kinds of life forms classified by Mahavira) while elucidat­
ing his most subtle, profound and realistic concept of nonvio­lence most
relevant in the present ecological crisis which in a public hearing inEurope has been described in the following words:
The important problems are: environmental deterioration in many
regions, nearing catastrophic proportions; poverty boarding on
indigence for most of the population: intense social differentiation,
hastening the disintegration of society; loss of a system of values, withdisorientation of much of population; growing criminality, with noguarantees of safely; disappearance of the country’s labour potential.

Mahavira has added a new dimeasion to the concept of ahimsa, calledanekantvad (The doctrine that truth is many-sided). Elucidating it in
his famous book entitled “The Jain Declaration of Nature” Dr L.M.
Singhvi—the former High Commissioner of India in U.K. says:
The concept of universal interdependence underpins the Jain theory ofknowledge, known as anekantavada or the doctrine of manifold aspects,
anekantavada describes the world as a multifaceted, everchanging
reality with an infinity of viewpoints depending on the time, place,nature and state of the one who is the viewer and that which is viewed.
This leads to the doctrine of syadvada or relativity, which states thattruth is relative to different viewpoints (nayas). What is true from one
point of view is open to question from another. Absolute truth cannot be
grasped from any particular viewpoint alone because absolute truth is
the sum total of all the different viewpoints that make up the universe.
Because it is rooted in the doctrines of anekantavada and syadvada,Jainism does not look upon the universe from an anthropocentric,
ethnocentric or egocentric viewpoint. It takes into account the
viewpoints of other species, other communities and nations and otherhuman beings.

Ahimsa is the basic principle of Jainism and is the quintessence of allthat it stands for. The age we live in is an age of science and reason. It isalso an age of democracy which attaches utmost importance to democra­
cy but most religious traditions consider God as the supreme ruler
without whose wish nothing moves in the universe. Contrary to thisbelief Jainism considers God a perfect liberated soul free from all formsof passions. He doesn’t rule the universe but regards all jivas (souls) as

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equal and bestows on each of them the right to attain to the state of
godhood. In other words, all jivas can become gods provided they tread
the path of purification and practise equanimity of mind. Their elevation
is determined by their deeds and not by God’s special compassion.
Autocracy is a word not found in the dictionary of the Jains. No
Tirthankara (the highest spiritual authority in the Jain tradition) cansend any jiva either to heaven or to hell but surely one can attain moksha
or liberation by the path shown by them. What I mean is that equality
and true democracy are the pillars of Jainism.

Ahimsa and Ecology
As has already been stated ahimsa itself is an ecological ethic. Once a
person realizes that since every living being wants to live, it is unethicaland sinful to kill. Nonkilling is the greatest religion. It enjoins people tolive and let live. In the Jain concept of ahimsa mental and verbal formsof violence are more dangerous than the forms of physical violence. The
idea of killing or doing harm to others or conspiring against others firstoriginates in the human mind. The main reason of this inclination inhuman mind is the rise of the four major passions i.e. attachment,
hatred, pride and deceipt. As a result, man not only behaves unethicallytowards his own fellow humans but also towards non-humans (environ­ment). The modern eco-philosopher Prof. Arne Naes has rightly statedthat the ecological crisis emanates from man’s unrestrained violent
attitude towards non-humans. Ecological harmony demands that bothhumans and non-humans should flourish together. It is possible only
when man observes ahimsa in his day-today life. Complete abstinencefrom violence is impossible for a householder so Lord Mahavira said
that he should at least abstain from inessential violence. Essential
violence relates to man’s survival and inessential violence is what heindulges in for his comfort, cosmetic decoration and to satisfy his greed.
If humans take this pledge that they will refrain from indulging ininessential violence and will do the least harm to environment, it will
result in sustainable ecological harmony.
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Vishva Bharati, Ladnun, India

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