Ahimsa : In all religions :

All religions of the world put great emphasis on Ahimsa-Non killing; love all beings as thyself. F

or some, Ahimsa is limited to humans, some go further and include animals, birds some even to marine creatures but Jainism is for all living beings including life in water, air, fire, earth, vegetations , visible or invisible to the lowest forms of life.

One cannot practise Ahimsa unless one knows the nature of living beings. Jainism has gone to the extreme depth in scriptures (some of which have been now accepted by modern science).

Three supreme divine qualities: Ahimsa - Samyam, and Tapa : Without proper Tapa (Penance) Samyam (complete renunciation- Jain priesthood) is not-worthwhile, and without Samyam, Ahimsa to its maximum limit is impossible thus all the three are interrelated."Jiva-daya" means caring for and sharing with all living be­ings, tending, protecting & saving them.

It entails, universal friendliness (Maitri) universal forgiveness (Kshma) and univer­sal fearlessness(Abhaya).

Jayana :How can a man live in this world without committing violence ? The utmost limit one can achieve is only through Samyam -Complete Renunciation and Five Great Vows as practised by Jain Monks according to Jain Scriptures. For people in general the road ahead is with Jayana.

Universe is full of living beings. To reach the state of eternal salvation and bliss, which is possible only from human condition, man has to preserve his life but with extreme care he hurts the least. Thereby limiting to fewer and lower forms of life, which result in generation of less harmful Karma he generates. This leads to avoidance of meat, wine, even things like honey, including roots such as potato, onions, etc, where continu­ous breeding of invisible (to the naked eye) numberless lowest forms of living beings take place.No virtue of spirit is greater than reverence for life.

"All Arhats" (Venerable ones) of the past, present and future; dis­course, councel, proclaim, propound and prescribe thus in unison: "Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torture or kill any creature or living-being".For giving practical shape in our day to day life Jain Scriptures guide us, so as not to hurt living souls as far as possible, by doing our activities with "Jayana" which means "With utmost care, with motherly tenderness and reverence for life".

One should :-

• "JAYAM Chare" - move about"
• JAYAM Chitthe" - stand"
• JAYAM Ase" - sit"
• JAYAM Saye" - (go to bed)"J
• AYAM Bhunje" -eat or drink"
• JAYAM Bhase" - speak (language) with utmost care -

"JAYANA" - We commit more sin by our language than our physical action and maximum violence in our heart and mind (thoughts and intentions) Without violent thoughts there could be no violent actions

Merit or Demerit for the same Act :One person sweeps his house with a broom to keep it clean, his intention betrays attachment & pride. The other person while cleaning thinks that it should be kept clean so that there is no breeding ground for insects, and be done with a soft broom so as not to hurt any living being. The intention here is to protect the life, it is (Daya) compassion. The first person gathers, the Karma of Demerit or woe while the second accumulates the Karma of merit or weal for the same act.

Absence of compassion, makes the action vio­lent.Most of the religions have many common beliefs, some give more details and some less. The common aim is the spiritual upliftment of human being, yet there are different view points and practices in the same religion. It seems that with the philosophy of "Syadvada" (Relativity) most of the conflicts could be avoided, bringing a harmony amongst conflicting ideologies.