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Ahimsa (Sanskrit: अहिंसा, IAST: ahiṃsā, lit. 'nonviolence'[1]) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to actions towards all living beings. It is a key virtue in Indian religions like Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism.[2][3][4]
Ahimsa (also spelled Ahinsa) is one of the cardinal virtues[2] of Jainism, where it is the first of the Pancha Mahavrata. It is also one of the central precepts of Hinduism and is the first of the five precepts of Buddhism. Ahimsa is[5] inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark of the divine spiritual energy; therefore, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself. Ahimsa is also related to the notion that all acts of violence have karmic consequences. While ancient scholars of Brahmanism had already investigated and refined the principles of ahimsa, the concept reached an extraordinary development in the ethical philosophy of Jainism.[2][6] Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and the last tirthankara of Jainism, further strengthened the idea in the 6th century BCE.[7] About the 5th century CE, Valluvar emphasized ahimsa and moral vegetarianism as virtues for an individual, which formed the core of his teachings in the Kural.[8] Perhaps the most popular advocate of the principle of ahimsa in modern times was Mahatma Gandhi.[9]
Ahimsa's precept that humans should 'cause no injury' to another living being includes one's deeds, words, and thoughts.[10][11] Classical Hindu texts like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as modern scholars,[12] disagree about what the principle of Ahimsa dictates when one is faced with war and other situations that require self-defence. In this way, historical Indian literature has contributed to modern theories of just war and self-defence.[13]
- ^ Rune E. A. Johansson (2012). Pali Buddhist Texts: An Introductory Reader and Grammar. Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-136-11106-8.
- ^ a b c Phillips, Stephen H.; et al. (collaboration) (2008). Kurtz, Lester (ed.). Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second ed.). Elsevier Science. pp. 1347–1356, 701–849, 1867. ISBN 978-0-12-373985-8.
- ^ Dundas 2002, p. 160.
- ^ Bajpai, Shiva (2011). The History of India – From Ancient to Modern Times (PDF). Hawaii, USA: Himalayan Academy Publications. pp. 8, 98. ISBN 978-1-934145-38-8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 June 2019.
- ^ Arapura, John G. (1997). "The Spirituality rof Ahiṃsā (Nonviolence): Traditional and Gandhian". In Sundararajan, K.R.; Mukerji, Bithika (eds.). Hindu Spirituality: Postclassical and Modern. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 392–417. ISBN 978-81-208-1937-5.
- ^ Chapple, Christopher Key (1993). "Origins and Traditional Articulations of Ahiṃsā". Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions. State University of New York Press.
- ^
- "Mahavira", britannica.com, archived from the original on 21 June 2019, retrieved 2 May 2018
- Patel, Haresh (2009). Thoughts from the Cosmic Field in the Life of a Thinking Insect [A Latter-Day Saint]. Strategic Book Publishing. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-60693-846-1.
- ^ Das, G. N. (1997). Readings from Thirukkural. Abhinav Publications. pp. 11–12. ISBN 8-1701-7342-6.
- ^ Gandhi, Mohandas K. (2002). The Essential Gandhi: an anthology of his writings on his life, work, and ideas. Random House Digital, Inc.
- ^ Kirkwood, W.G. (1989). "Truthfulness as a standard for speech in ancient India". Southern Communication Journal. 54 (3): 213–234. doi:10.1080/10417948909372758.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
kaneda2008was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Struckmeyer, F.R. (1971). "The 'Just War' and the Right of Self-defense". Ethics. 82 (1): 48–55. doi:10.1086/291828. S2CID 144638778.
- ^ Balkaran, R.; Dorn, A.W. (2012). "Violence in the Vālmı̄ki Rāmāyaṇa: Just War Criteria in an Ancient Indian Epic" (PDF). Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 80 (3): 659–690. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfs036. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2019.