Ahimsa

Ahimsa means "without violence" in a literal sense, not inflicting pain or injury upon forms of life spanning from the largest mammals to the smallest bacteria. It is understood as nonviolence or pacifism, but this is just one aspect of it. It halts the acquirement of karmic debt, resulting in moksha.

Jain Origins

It is a Jain concept. Jainism is a 6th Century BCE dharmic religion that regards ahimsa as the most essential duty - "ahimsa paramo dharma" often inscribed on Jain temples. It regards no exceptions to non-violence and so will eat no meat. Jain monks will sweep their temples with great care to avoid crushing insects. 

However, violence can be justified in self-defense or to fulfil military dharma. A hierarchy of life is also recognised, with the more senses a being has necessitating a greater priority of care towards them. Because of this, humans are protected the most strongly in Jain ahimsa.

Jains believe that the only way to save your own soul is to protect others. The word is usually found on the Jain symbol of the open palm, meaning "stop".

The aim is to prevent the accumulation of negative karma. It has been a part of Jainism from the beginning.

Traditional Hindu Ahimsa

Non-violence is only one aspect of ahimsa. It also entails showing compassion, love, forgiveness, friendliness, and supporting peace. In Hinduism, its a spiritual concept and an integral part of the religion. It is considered to be the highest virtue by many and is practiced for both spiritual growth and moksha.

In Hinduism, there is debate about the eating of meat detailed in the Mahabharata and Manu Smriti, especially regarding he legality of religious slaughter. In some texts it is considered a high duty, but in others exceptions like hunting or capital punishment are permitted.  The Ayurveda recommends eating meat for good health. The Bhagavata Purana and the Chandogya Upanishad condemn violence against domestic animals, with the exception of ritual slaughter. The Mahabharata supports hunting only by the Kshatriyas.

There is no difference distinguished between the soul of a human or an animal. Both are atman and therefore divine in essence. Because of this, there are severe karmic consequences of violence or deliberate murder of an animal, particularly being eaten by an animal in a future existence. Ahimsa is deemed necessary for salvation.

Both faiths hold ahimsa to be important, with exceptions, but is certainly more central to Jainism. However, both agree that violence has karmic consequences.

Application of Ahimsa in the Modern Age

Gandhi

Gandhi's mother was Jain, pushing him to use ahimsa as a tool to fight for Indian independence.

He was influenced greatly by the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus' emphasis on agape and turning the other cheek. Gandhi took this literally, believing that pacifism would not only result in moral superiority but was actually a tool with which to overcome evil. He encouraged people to respond to British violence with nonviolence in order for the Indian demands for freedom to bear fruit.

Ahimsa to him was not avoiding confrontation, but opposing and overthrowing evil and injustice through non-violent means.

He did not believe that ahimsa was a passive concept, but instead the active choice of doing good to evil doers.

He was a proponent of Satyagraha - meaning literally "holding onto truth" or "truth force". It was a determined, but non-violent, resistance to evil. It is more complex than ahimsa as it argues that truth has an inherent force. This means there is strength and authority given to those motivated by truth. Satyagrahis - practitioners of satygraha - refuse to submit to wrong or co-operate with it in any way. Violecne would dilute truth's moral strength, because it would no longer be true.

He first employed it in 1906 to respond to a law discriminating against Asians in South Africa by the British colonial government. In 1917, the first satyagraha campaign in India was mounted in the indigo-growing districts of Champaran. Fasting and economic boycotts were used as methods of satyagraha in India until the British left the country in 1947.

In Young India, Gandhi made clear he believed satyagraha included not showing anger, but suffering the anger of the opponent, not retaliating, and not submitting to any order given in anger. To not resist arrest, not insult opponents, and to even protect them from attack.

There is also the principle of sarvodaya, meaning the upliftment of everyone, including members of all classes, all castes, all religions, all regions, and all sexes.

Both of these principles were also used by the likes of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. However, it can be questioned as to whether or not 21st century problems are simple enough to be relevant to principles of Ahimsa. 

QUOTE BANK!!

Laws of Manu: "As many hairs as the slain beast has, so often indeed will he who killed it without a lawful reason suffer a violent death in future births."

Gandhi: "There is no cause for which I am prepared to kill bu many causes for which I am prepared to die."

Gandhi: "Ahimsa is the highest duty. Even if we cannot practice it in full, we must try to understand its spirit and refrain as far as is humanly possible from violence."

Gandhi: "Ahimsa is not merely a negative state of harmlessness, but it is a positive state of love, of doing good even to the evil-doer. But it does not mean helping the evil-doer to continue the wrong or tolerating it by passive acquiescence. On the contrary, love - the active state of ahimsa - requires you to resist the wrong-doer by dissociating yourself from him, even though it may offend him or injure him physically."

Gandhi: "Non-violence is a power which can be wielded equally by all - children, young men and women or grown-up people, provided they have a living faith in the G-d of love and have therefore equal love for all mankind. When non-violence is accepted as the law of life, it must pervade the whole being and not be applied to isolated acts."

Gandhi: "Satyagraha is a weapon of the strong; it admits of no violence under any circumstance whatever; and it always insists upon the truth."

Gandhi: "The essence of non-violent technique is that it seeks to liquidate antagonisms but ot the antagonists. My non-violence does not admit running away from danger and leaving dear noes unprotected. Between violence and cowardly flight, I can only prefer violence to cowardice. I can no more preach non-violence to a coward than I can tempt a blind man to enjoy healthy scenes."

Mandela: "To make peace with an enemy one must work with that enemy and that enemy becomes one's partner."