The Jain Declaration on Nature 

Ahimsā – “non-harming or nonviolence – is the central principle of the ancient Jain religion. It is the avoidance of violence in thought, word, and deed, not only to human beings but to all of nature. It sees life as pervading even the most tiny and microscopic forms and what may be deemed nonliving by others. Nonviolence positively expressed is reverence for life with love, compassion, and empathy for all living beings at every step of daily life. The Jain religion is the path of the Jinas or “Victors,” who showed the way to liberation from suffering and repeated rebirth determined by karma. According to Jain tradition, Mahāvīra, who lived in north India 2,500 years ago, was the 24th and most recent of the Jinas. The Jain religion is known not only for its teaching of nonviolence, but also for the asceticism of its monks and nuns, who observe rigorous disciplines. It was a strong influence on Gandhi, and today awareness of the Jain teaching of nonviolence and its implications for protecting nature is widespread. 

 

The Jain Declaration on Nature 

The Jain ecological philosophy is virtually synonymous with the principle of ahimsa (nonviolence) which runs through the tradition like a golden thread. Ahimsa is a principle that Jains teach and practice not only towards human beings but towards all nature. It is an unequivocal teaching that is at once ancient and contemporary.  

There is nothing so small as the atom nor any element so vast as space. Similarly, there is no human quality more subtle than nonviolence and no virtue of spirit greater than reverence for life. The teaching of ahimsa refers not only to physical acts of violence but also to violence in the hearts and minds of human beings, their lack of concern and compassion for their fellow humans and for the natural world. Ancient Jain texts explain that violence (himsa) is not defined by actual harm, for this may be unintentional. It is the intention to harm, the absence of compassion, that makes an action violent. Without violent thought there could be no violent actions. Jain cosmology recognizes the fundamental natural phenomenon of symbiosis or mutual dependence. All aspects of nature belong together and are bound in a physical as well as metaphysical relationship. Life is viewed as a gift of togetherness, accommodation, and assistance in a universe teeming with interdependent constituents.  

~ The Jain Declaration on Nature: Dr. L. M. Singhvi, prepared for the Institute on Jainology and presented on the occasion of the entry of the Jain faith into the Network on Conservation and Religion, London 1990.  

 

Meet the Reader: Nitin Ajmera is the Chair of the Parliament of World’s Religions for 2021, President of Jain Social Group of New York, and involved in the Jain Center of America.