________________
356
wounding our religious susceptibilities. The Mahomedans acted in a different way towards Sit Roland, because, in their view, they must literally carry out their religious injunctions.
There is another remark of Sir Roland which is very pertinent, namely, relating to the aversion of the Jains and Buddhists to the taking of lile, and consequently to all forms of fighting, even when purely defensive. In that he finds an explanation, in a great measure, of the presence in India, first of the Maboinedaos, and then of the British. In this counection I must observe that the Jain teaching is not that of non-resistance, as it is ordinarily understood. Even a strict Jain, when he takes the vow of non-killing, does so in the following words: " I shall not deliberately kill an innocent being without a purpose" This shows what limiting conditions are joined by the idea of non-killing. As a matter of fact, non-resistance is now the characteristic of the Jains as well as Hindus. But I do not think it is the result of their aversion to taking life. Even the flesh eaters in India have ceased to fight, except those who are paid to do so. Some persons think that the Jain preaching of vegetarianism is the chief cause of the disappearance of fighting qualities from the Hindus. The fact is, that vegetarianism does not necessarily disincline a person to fight. The conquering soldiers of Rome and Sparta, the athletes and wrestlers of Greece, were generally abs
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
