Non-Violence : The highest virtue

Dr Akham Hemabati Devi *

With the rampant increases of crime, crisis, murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, hatred and distrust between one individual and another etc. everybody proclaim again and again about peace. The so-called peace is to live in harmony, co-operation, love, friendliness, right attitude, optimistic feeling, right to life etc.

All these are rooted on non-violence. Generally we considered that non-violence is non-injury or non-harming to others. Violence imply not only non-killing or non-injury to others but also even using harsh words and ill thoughts. From this we know that the concept of violence encompasses wider context. Even Mahatma Gandhi, the great apostle of non-violence, had never ruled out violence absolutely.

The Hindu scriptures also had permitted the use of violence for self-defense against an armed attacker. However, it is automatically to come to peace if we follow non-violence as much as possible. As a human being, it is impossible to follow absolute or complete non-violence. There are some activities which necessitate violence like protection from dangerous animals and insects. Under certain conditions Gandhi accepts the use of violence. We should try to minimize the use of violence.

Extreme violence should be totally ruled out. However, In Mahabharata, Arjuna refused to do his duty as a warrior because his duty involves extreme violence against one’s friends now turned enemies. Sri Krishna tried to convince him from the metaphysical as well as socio-ethical ground that he must fight. And said that we must fight against what is wrong.

Krishna advised Arjuna to fight without passion or ill-will or attachment and if we develop such frame of mind violence become impossible. In the present context, we can considered that soldiers are dedicated their life for our country to save dignity, sovereignty, peaceful and harmonious life. They fight the battle; kill the enemies even if killing the people is violence. The government also makes some law in order to protect society for bringing peace, harmony and all round development.

Someone who voluntarily violated moral law he ought to be punished for his evil deeds. This is the ethical justification of punishment. Punishment is the act of restoring the moral order. The degree of punishment is due to different crimes. For example, the punishment of heinous crimes is different from that of the punishment of theft. There is law even for domestic violence also. One can take the protection from the government side. Even if the violent act appears to be good, the good is not permanent but only temporary.

The concept of non-violence was further more developed by Mahatma Gandhi, who revived the traditional concept of it and applied it successfully particularly in the political field on a large scale. His concept of non-violence is entirely based on love. His positive aspect of non-violence is greatly influenced by Christian concept of love, Buddhist twin concepts of compassion and friendliness; Jaina philosophy of equality of all souls.

Non-violence is found in all religion such as Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. So Gandhi called it as the heart of all religions. He used non-violence as a means for the realization of truth. One of the most important philosophical thoughts of Gandhi is the end and means problem. End and means are the two important concepts in his philosophy which play a very important implication for his doctrine of truth and non-violence. He discussed this two terms very seriously, it became critical in his philosophy.

He considered Truth as the end and non-violence as the means. The means must be pure because the ends which Mahatma Gandhi try to attain are moral and spiritual ends i.e., Ramrajya, sarvodya, swaraj, seeing God face to face, attaining liberation. All these ends are closely connected with spirituality. Human beings try to easily achieve their aims without caring about the means. An enthusiastic or spiritual man takes care for both end and means. Gandhi regards the only means is real.

Gandhi believed that man can bring the heaven or paradise on this earth only if both end and means are used in the right manner. The end which is spiritual cannot be attained by non-spiritual means. It indicates that a good end cannot justify any means.

It has been definitely shown that his concept of non-violence is a practical one. He called himself a practical idealist. As a practical idealist, he tried to solve the various difficulties and problems in a rational and scientific way. He was not only a preacher of it but also practiced what he preached.

Most of his basic tenets are derived from the idealistic trend of traditional thoughts and practiced them in the practical life to redress the grievances of humanity and the evil politics of narrow minded people. Gandhi himself is not a politician but a political leader. He has been an integral part of Indian politics. The essence of his political philosophy is the empowerment of every individual irrespective of class, caste, creed and community.

Gandhi became Mahatma, the great leader of the masses through the proper application of non-violence. His concept of non-violence tried to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, which can only be hastened by the interior transformation of man’s heart through love. The ethics of love moves basically in the direction of non-violence, non-resistance to evil, i.e., love for all creatures. It is already recommended by Lord Buddha that enmity cannot be put to an end by enmity. ‘Let a man overcome anger by non-anger, let him overcome evil by good, let him overcome the liar by truth’

Non-violence is a socio-ethical virtue and it is to be cultivated like other virtues. 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 God 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.

As a practical idealist he says that if any principle cannot be put into practice in our practical life and never lead to welfare of all, it must be discarded. He became the strongest symbol of non-violence in the twentieth century. Through the spiritual approach of non-violence, India got independence from British rule in 1947. His concept of non-violence becomes a spiritual powerful tool which is also the way for establishing peace.

The opposite of peace is not war but violence and such notion has been adopted by peace researcher today. Non-violence not merely means absence of violence, non-killing or non-harming to other, it connotes the positive attitudes of mind which comprehends all living beings. So, he expanded the meaning of non-violence as love.

He recommended that every individual should walk and work on the path of non-violence. It is not an easy thing to understand, still less to practice. It is an attribute of soul so that it can be practiced by everybody in all the affairs of life. But it needs great patience. Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence is more relevant today than ever before. In our present day society, we are living in a situation of great turmoil where there is no place which is secure and peaceful.

We are now facing crime, hatred and distrust between one individual and another, and between one community and another community. Also, with the complexity of life, one group of people wants to eliminate the other for no reason. In order to achieve supremacy or pleasure or reward, they resort to violence as a means, which affects the entire humanity.

These violent acts have eroded human values. All over the world, it is proclaimed again and again that Gandhian notion of pacifism is needed for present crisis. In the midst of the present international scenario, 192 members of General Assembly of United Nations unanimously adopted a resolution on 15th June, 2007 declaring 2nd October, the birth anniversary of Gandhi, as ‘the International Day of Non-violence’.

Mahatma Gandhi was not the pioneer of the concept of non-violence. He gave a new dimension of the ancient concept of it and applied it very successfully in various fields. It became a spiritual powerful weapon and way of living in peace. His peaceful and non-violent movement influenced to Martin Luther King Jr. for civil right movement in America.

Nelson Mandela and many more thinkers and social activists have been greatly influenced by the Gandhian concept of non-violence in their struggle against injustice. They had brought about peaceful solution to the problems through peace and non-violence.

Dalai Lama was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1989; and the chairman of the committee said that this was ‘in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi’. All Nobel Peace Laureates have proudly acknowledged their debt to Gandhi’s spiritual approach towards non-violence. Non-violence is the first article of his faith and the last article of his creed.