Ahimsa In Jainism
Ahimsa in Jainism is a concept among the followers of the Jain religion that form the basis of ethics and set of guidelines which largely control the way of living among the people. Among the Jain, Ahimsa is a word which refers to absolute non- violence, abstinence from causing injury or lack of the general aspiration to cause harm to any living thing in whatever form (Huntington, 2007:5). In Jainism, vegetarianism as well as any other form of nonviolence forms the basis from which the concept of ahimsa is drawn. Ahimsa according to Adian (2006:2) is so typical to Jainism religion that it invokes the images of abstemious, who results in covering up their mouths and brush off the ground in an effort to desist from injuring the most microscopic forms of life. Also, nonviolence in Jainism culture and practices is maintained even in Jain owned animal asylums, where even the ailing, most incapacitated birds and animals are well looked after and appreciated (Huntington, 2007:5).
Although there are other philosophies which advocate for nonviolence as part of the societal culture, ahimsa in Jainism differs to a great extent. While other philosophies conceptualize acts of violence as causing harm to others, causing harm even to oneself is considered as violence in Jain’s doctrines. This is because harming oneself incapacitates the soul from getting self freedom i.e. injures the soul. In Jainism, Ahimsa (or non-violence) goes beyond the acts of causing harm to oneself to harming others. Apart from asserting that individual who subscribes to Jainism abstain from harming owns soul and others, Jainism principles directs that individual shall not cause harm to any living thing or things with life potential i.e. animals & plants (Adian, 2006:2).
The Jains believes in the importance of life; which Jainism doctrine maintains must be protected at all cost. Ahimsa is therefore driven by the belief that all forms of life are sanctified and that any living being has a right to live anywhere without fear optimally. In Jainism culture therefore, the lives of all living beings are safe especially from those who have taken the ahimsa vows. Protection of life – which is a fundamental principle of Ahimsa in Jainism and also referred to as abhayadanam- is the utmost commitment/ voluntary act that an individual can (and is expected to) make (Adrian 2006). Unlike in other philosophies, Ahimsa does not only require abstinence from physical violence but also engaging in any form of violent behavior whatsoever. For an individual to be Jain, he or she must go through rituals which involves taking of vows. The Ahimsa vow which is one of the vows that Jains must go through has been formalized into the Jain principles as the initial key vow of the abstinent and the initial inconsequential vow among the Jain laymen.
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