Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
188Ahimsa is not the c rude thing it has been made to appear. Not to hurt any
living t hing is no doubt a part of ahimsa. But it is it s least expression. T he princ iple
of ahisma is hurt by every evil thought, by undue haste, by lying, by hatred, by
wishing ill t o anybody. It is also violat ed by our holding on t o what the world needs.
But the world needs even what we eat day by day. In the place where we stand
t here are millions of mic ro-organisms to whom the plac e belongs, and who are hurt
by our presenc e there. What should we do then? Should we c ommit suic ide? Even
t hat is no solut ion if we believe, as we do, t hat so long as t he spirit is at t ac hed t o
the flesh, on every destruction of the body it weaves for itself another. The body
will c ease t o be only when we give up all at t ac hment t o it. T his freedom from all
attac hment is the realisation of God as Truth. Suc h realisation c annot be attained in
a hurry. The body does not belong to us. While it lasts, we must use it as a trust
handed over to our c harge. Treating in this way the things of the flesh, we may one
day expect to become free from the burden of the body. Realising the limitations of
the flesh, we must strive day by day towards the ideal with what strength we have
in us.
It is perhaps c lear from the foregoing, that without ahisma it is not possible t o
seek and find Truth. Ahimsa and T rut h are so int ert wined t hat it is prac t ic ally
impossible to disentangle and separate them. They are like the two sides of a coin,
or rat her of a smoot h unst amped met allic disc. Who c an say, whic h is the obverse,
and whic h is the reverse? Nevertheless ahisma is the means; Truth is the end.
Means to be means must always be within our reac h, and so ahisma is our supreme
duty. If we take care of the means, we are bound to reach the end sooner or later.
When onc e we have grasped this point , final vic t ory is beyond quest ion. Whatever
difficulties we encounter, whatever apparent reverses we sustain, we may not give
up the quest for Truth whic h alone is, being God Himself.
Brahmacharya or Chastity
The third among our observanc es is brahmacharya. As a matter of fact all
observances are deducible from Truth, and are meant to subserve it. The man, who
is wedded to Truth and worships Truth alone, proves unfaithful to her, if he applies
his talents to anything else. How then c an he minister to the senses? A man, whose
ac t ivit ies are wholly c onsec rat ed t o t he realisat ion of T rut h, whic h requires ut t er
selflessness, c an have no time for the selfish purpose of begetting c hildren and
running a household. Realisation of Truth through self-grat ific at ion should, after
what has been said before, appear a contradiction in terms.
If we looks at it from the standpoint of ahimsa (non-violenc e), we find that the
fulfilment of ahisma is impossible without utter selflessness. Ahimsa me a n s
Universal Love. If a man gives his love to one woman, or a woman to one man,
what is t here left for all t he world besides? It simply means, We two first, and the
devil take all the rest of them.’ As a faithful wife must be prepared to sacrifice her
all for the sake of her husband, and a faithful husband for the sake of his wife, it is
c lear that suc h persons c annot rise to the height of Universal Love, or look upon all
mankind as kith and kin. For they have c reated a boundary wall round their love.
T he larger t heir family, t he farther are they from Universal Love. Henc e one who
would obey the law of ahimsa cannot marry, not to speak of gratification outside
t he marit al bond.