Jaindhram.com

ANUVRAT
By Acharya Mahapargya

   Human Beings and Relations.
Familial Harmony
Birth of The New Men
Training in Non-Violence: A Universal Dimension
Where Does Guilt Consciousness Come From ?

Human Beings and Relations.

        The human religion enunciated by Anuvrat Anushasta Tulsi, Provides a solution to the problems pervading the whole society, a solution that does not create new problems and therefore renders violence unnecessary. Various forms of violence are striking terror in society. The increasing bitterness is also a product of violence.
        Let us examine the two terms "human being' and 'relation' in the above context. First, it is necessary to understand the meaning of 'human being'. Many branches of knowledge including sociology, psychology and philosophy have interrupted the term and tried to understand man to be basically a social being. Psychologists have explained man and his behavior on the basis of his unconsciousness and basic instincts. Philosophers have made karma the basis of their interpretation. Spiritual teachers have defined man on the basis of intellectual awareness. Aristotle defined man as a rational animal. This kind of ability to reason is not found in any other being. I feel that though none of these interpretations is wrong, none is entirely right either. With a partial or one-sided view point, no single view or opinion is either fully right or wrong.

Individuality : Communality.
        It is true that man is a social living being but it is not true that he is social and nothing else. He is as much individual as he is social. Existentialist philosophers lay emphasis on his individual features, not on common or universal features. In their opinion, individuality is man's exclusive quality and he cannot be understood by underplaying it. Sociologists hold the view that man cannot survive without water. Here we have two diverse views-- premium on individuality by existentialist and that on communality by sociologists. It is only by combining both that we get total view.

The Psychological View.
        Psychological say that man is governed by the unconscious. All his activities and behavior are conducted by the unconscious. It again is a partial truth, because there is much behind the unconscious which also acts as conductor. Our wakeful awareness or the conscious has also acts as conductor. Our wakefulness awareness or the conscious has also something unique about it. Further, the soul which is beyond the unconscious has its own importance too. We can thus treat the unconscious as a midpoint with the soul at its back and intelligent awareness in its fore. Between the two ends operates the unconscious. Man has countless and it is difficult to define him in a few words.

Society and Relations.
        Let us now consider the nature of relations. Society is a chain of relations. Relation means social orientation or orientation towards society is relation-oriented, i.e. characterized by relations. These relations start with the very birth of a child. He gets related to parents, brothers, sisters, etc. One who is beyond relations is a sanyasi or mumukshu (an ascetic who renounced the world or one who is desirous of salvation). The first characteristic of a muni according to the Uttaradhyanan Sutra is freedom from relation. But on the worldly plane, the child is surrounded by relations right from its birth. A relation is based on duality.

The Philosophical Context.
        Three streams emerged in Indian philosophy :
        1.    Advaitavad (Monism)
        2.    Dvaitavad (Dualism)
        3.    Dvaitadvaitavad (Dualism and Monism)
                The first shankaracharya and his guru Gaurhpal gave birth to advaitavad. According to this doctrine, God or the Eternal spirit is real; The world is unreal--- an illusion. Supporters of doctrine of Dvaitavad are the schools of Buddhism, Samkhya and Nyaya. According to them, both the animate and inanimate exist. By conceding advaita, one wonders how we can function in daily practical life. What will be the relation between the society and individual? Advait would rule out all behavior, language, ideas and thinking. So the believers in Advait had to put forward the concept of Maya-- mere appearance or illusion. Whatever is going are is unreal. Thus conceding the inanimate installed Maya on the royal pedestal. This is idealistic thinking.
        For the realists, positing the concept of Maya is essential. Both the animate and the inanimate are real. But here too there is a problem. By conceding dvait we lend weight to the notion of difference. Therefore, it is essential for us to concede advait at the back of dvaita and dvaita at the back of advaita.

Coordination Between Dvait and Advaita.
        The philosophy of aneket subscribers neither to dvaita nor to advaita. It coordinates the two. we cannot explain relations purely on the basis of advaita alone. we have to resort to both in order to explain relations. An exclusive allegiance to dvaita will mean perpetual bitterness in relation as a result of accentuating difference and distance. It will be impossible to remove that bitterness. In fact advaita is inherent in dvaita. It is on the basis of advaita tradition that one treats everyone else like oneself, that self realization takes place and one observes equanimity in both joy and sorrow. But advaita alone is not adequate and one has to resort to dvaita. If the 'other ' is their, dvaita will have to be explained and human nature and behavior will have to understood on that basis.

I and My.
        Let us discuss the ways of improving relations on the basis of both advaita and dvaita. It is the basic instincts which are responsible for relations. Two of our basic instincts are ' I ' and 'My'. I represents selfishness and My represents relation. all relations are based on the basis of the instinct of possession. As the instinct of possession extend in scope, the relations multiply.
There would have been no relations in the absence of that instinct. An extension of that instinct is an extension of relations. But if  there had been no  ' I ' there would have been no problem in relations. The problems we face in respect of relations have ' I ' at their back, because the ' I ' instinct breeds increasing selfishness. The 'my' instinct gets divided into many categories. If it is my son or my family, they can be partners in the profits I earn. But my servant cannot share in the profits. Again, the factor influencing such a categorization of relations is the ' I ' instinct. Once ' I ' ceases to be narrow and confined and spreads out to others, all problems pertaining to relations come to an end. ' I ' in its narrow form breeds bitterness in relations resulting in complicated problems.

Causes of Violence.
        Violence and crime are two major problems we face toady. Violence has a myriad forms. One major factor behind violence is the individual tendency to grab more and more, denying others their share. The latter react with violence which sometimes assumes the shape of terrorism. Even as one man is busy earning, he wants to earn at the cost of others. This exploitation is an important cause of violence. If we analyze the phenomena of thefts, robberies, kidnappings and murders, we find that one man's instinct is encouraging the instinct of other person. Greed and selfishness as individual instincts give birth to savagely cruelty. In fact, one man's cruelty shifts to the victim and makes him cruel too. Many of these problems would not have appeared if there had been no greed in man. Man has not grasped the true import of the instinct of  ' I ' and 'my'. In fact, he has fed them to such an extent that they have made all other instincts secondary.

Material Objects and Peace are not the same.
        Let us elaborate the above proposition, for it is essential if people want to lead a happy  and peaceful life. society has come into being so that man may live in peace, and be free from all worry and anxiety. There can be no happiness in the absence of peace. One can pile up items of comfort, but not of peace and happiness. We should never forget the fact that material objects and peace are not the same. Material objects and happiness are not the same. We should also remember the fact that problems and unhappiness are not the same. A problem may occur at the physical level or mental level. However, intellectual awareness transcends these levels. If we cling to a problem, there can be no solution. If we are generally improving human relations we should refine the instincts ' I ' and 'my' so that selfishness is not forfeited and the freedom of others is not transgressed. If someone is mine, it does not mean that he or she has no independent existence. Every living being has a right to live in freedom. A relation is justified only to the extent it is useful without tramping on someone's freedom.

Life's Relativeness.
        Our lie is relative. Life cannot be led in isolation. Everyone requires someone else. For sustaining one life the labour of a thousand of people is needed. The labour of a large number of people is involved between the time a seed is planted and its product is cooked in the kitchen. It is only thereafter that someone eats a meal. Being so much relative (related to others), it will be the height of unwisdom on the part of a man not to closely deliberate upon relations and to make them cordial. To consider the problems with those related with our life amounts to considering the problems of relation, adopting an attitude of sensitiveness and compassion towards others, making relations cordial and refining them.

World created by Resoluteness.
        It is very difficult to know how to improve relations or how to make them cordial. the difficulty is caused by the persistent presence of the ego is uncontrolled, selfishness will grow strong and will prevent cordially of relations. They would be like sea-water which cannot be made sweet even by mixing sugar in it .
        Religious teachers have discovered the ways of curbing the ego. Anuvrat has given a philosophy for this purpose. The first step is to resolve or to take a vow, which symbolizes great strength. With the awakening of a resolve, the process of transformation commences. Our world is born of resolves or vows. It takes shape according to the resolve we make. It is a major resolve that " I will not kill anyone deliberately or will not practice inessential violence". A little violence now and then may be essential for survival, but if the resolve to commit violence is given up and the resolve to practice nonviolence is made, a strong base for making relations cordial is built.

The Principle of Equipoise.
        Lord Mahavira gave a principle for rousing self awareness (weigh all living beings with your pair of  scales). Vyas gave a similar principle (we should not do to others what we consider bad for ourselves.) By practicing these principles we generate compassion. If pain is unfavorable to us, it is equally unfavorable for others. Robbing others of their bread is bad, because I do not like my bread to be robbed. By balancing the two scales we refine our disposition and the ego is curbed. If I had been alone in the world, the world would have been mine-- my ego would have been expanded. But the world is peopled by countless others like me-- this thought puts an curb on my ego, limits it within well-defined confines.

The issue is one of Refinement.
        Using contemplation of compassion is extremely important to awaken the intellectual awareness of compassion and sensitivity. Practice is essential for bringing about a change. It refers to our individuality or internal change. By being merely social and opportunistic, we should not devalue its importance. Socialization cannot be useful beyond a point of refinement, though it does prove useful when it comes to building an organization or system. Practice is a long term process; one cannot expect transformation in a short time. Changing an attitude and developing another does not take a long time. Maharsi patanjali has rightly exhorted-- Practice changing acquired or inherited traits uninterruptedly over a long period and that too with deep faith. Following such practice we can succeed in removing the disposition of cruelty and restoring the disposition of compassion.

Practicing Equality of Distribution.
        One of Schumaker's books is entitled 'Small is Beautiful'. It can guide us in the right direction. Again, a Scottish company experimented with distributive justice and it yielded positive results. Cruelty in society is likely to decrease if the principles of distributive justice and worker participation in management are practiced. Does it not encourage violence when  a man earns huge profits as squanders millions just on an ordinary celebration? Does it not generate a strong reaction? Human relations can certainly be improved if the principle of distributive justice is practiced in society.

Who will provide Protection?
        It is likely that we must understand properly and transformation may come about if we adopt and practice social change and spiritual experiments and be aware of the consequences of violence. Violence is constantly increasing and man feels secure wherever he may be. Millions are being spent on providing security to a single individual. It is frightening to imagine a time when individual throughout the country may need commandos for personal security. Who will then remain secure and who will provide security to others? Such a vicious circle can only be imagined. If serious thought is not given to this problem and appropriate and timely measures are not taken, no one should be surprised to see the law of the jungle prevail in society, where large scale mutual killing will become the order of the day. To avoid such a frightening eventuality, we should act wisely and learn to eschew disproportionate and unjust consumption, denying others their share and as a result making them a frustrated lot.

The Solution.
        Bearing all these in mind, one concludes that the solution lies in adopting the principles of anuvrat and following the exercises and follow the exercises of Preksha Dhyan. What can cause a bigger surprise than the fact that in this scientific age, intellectually aware and intelligent people are unable to transform themselves or even to think of its need, while daily new inventions are being made and radical changes are taking place unabated. It is therefore imperative that steps are taken with a view to ensuring a bright future for humanity and a life led with sublime human qualities. One prior condition of such a consummation is an equal and simultaneous emphasis on a change of social order and refinement of attitudes. It is possible through reflection, firm resolution and persistent practice. Let us therefore move forward in that direction.

                                                                 Familial Harmony

        There was a time when everything was based on and centered upon the married couple. Organized life revolved around the couple. The concept of society was not yet born. There was no management and no planning. Today we see not only organized societies but also an explosion of population. Hence family planning methods are being employed. In the pre-society era there was a built-in balance in nature which has now vanished. In many countries there are more boys than girls which has resulted in an imbalance. This problem is growing in china. The reverse is also true, where there is dearth of boys. Thus, many problems relating to planning are emerging. In the past, nature balanced things and it lasted a long time. With the formation of social groupings and families came the problem of planning. In fact, any expansion brings into wake the need and problems of planning. The growth of the family system gave rise to the need for planning.
    There are three major requirements of man:-
    1.    Assurance
            Man wants assurance. Who will take care of us and protect us in old age and when we are ill and in adversity? Who will really help and cooperate? Man wants an assurance on this score. Family came into being to afford this assurance.

    2.    Trust
            The second requirement is trust. Who can be trusted to come to our reuse in our hour of need? Whom can we trust enough to make him or her a custodian of our wealth? Who can we confide in? Who can be friends both in prosperity and adversity? The feeling of trust has played a major role in building the institution of the family -- deep and profound trust which outsiders cannot breach.

    3.    Development
            The third requirement is development. Every man wants development -- to go forward and grow better. Development too needs an organization for the purpose because it provided ample opportunities of development.

Collective Morale is essential.
        Collective morale is essential for development. It has a very important place in Social Psychology. James Drekker speaks of three constituents of morale:
    1. Self-control
    2. Self-confidence
    3. Disciplined Action
            Collective morale does not exist in the absence of  the above three factors and no organization, big or small, can function without collective morale, thereby making development impossible.

Self-control
        The first constituent of collective morale is self-control. Nobody can be suitable for an organization if he cannot himself, cannot bridle instincts and impulses. In fact he proves a hindrance to the organization.

Self-confidence
        The second constituent is self-confidence. It is not possible to run an organization or any development to occur in a situation in a situation where people live a full of doubts and uncertainties. If someone undertakes a task, he should say to himself that he shall carry it out under all circumstances and without the slightest doubt. The following instance is mentioned in a Jain Agape:
        Draupadi was kidnapped by one Padmnabh, ruler of another island. It became known and resulted in a war. The army of  Padmnabh was ranged against that of the pandavas on whose side was Vasudev Krishna, who told the Pandavas to fight Padmnabh and his army. The Pandavas did fight but misgivings since they lacked self-confidence. They were assailed with uncertainty (Shall we win or will Padmnabh win?) Not surprisingly, they were defeated. Then Vasudev Krishna led the war with the declaration (I will win, not Padmnabh), and he vanquished Padmnabh.
        Self-confidence is the chief key to success. No one can ever succeed if he lacks self-confidence and is subject to doubts and uncertainties. Self-confidence is truly a collective morale.

Discipline.
        The third constituent is discipline. Everything a successful man does is disciplined. There is no arbitrariness or haphazardness about it. It contributes to the of collective morale which in turn creates organizational strength and sense of unity.
        Collective morale has two aspects:-
                1. Mental aspect.
                2. Social aspect.
Morale: The mental aspect
        Man develops an attitude of acceptance of rules approved by the community willingly and without argument. This attitude shapes his behavior according to the collective rules. He does nit trespass them. It represents the mental aspect of collective morale.
Morale: The social aspect
        It pertains to the development of a social sense, which is very essential for the purposes of management. It consists in pushing individuals selfishness in the background and giving importance to the collective or social sense. There is a very important maxim given by chanakya :
            An individual should be sacrificed in the interest of the family, the family should be sacrificed in the interest of the country or society at large and everything should be sacrificed to serve the spiritual interest. In terms of management principles, a smaller interest should give away to a larger interest.

Modern principles of Management.
        Methods of management have greatly developed so that they have acquired a scientific character. However, management principles were practiced even in olden times. We should examine and deliberate on them both. Principles of modern management comprise nondiscrimination, justice and compassion. It is obvious that good management is impossible in the presence of discrimination, injustice and cruelty.

Ancient principles of Management.
    Four out of twelve components of ancient principles of management are the following four qualities :
            1. Friendship
            2. Sublime joy
            3. Compassion
            4. Considered disregard
        The greatest need of an organization, irrespective of its size, is friendship or mutual affection. There are six characteristics of friendship -- giving, taking, inquiring about secrets, revealing secrets, eating and entertaining to a meal.
            Anyone having these six characteristics is a friend. In practice, this is what friendship means, but in the context of management it has a lesser connotation. It simply means caring about the interests of others. No family can be said to be well- managed if its head and other members do not take care of one another's interests. The same is true of other organizations. One of the main reasons why families are disintegrating these days is lack of friendship. Individuals care for themselves, not for others. If the reverse is the case, the organization becomes too strong to suffer any breach.

This field is mine.
        Here is an instructive incident. he Maratha Commander Peshva Bajirao attacked Malwa. At the same time, the Marathas had the glorious reputation of being unfailing winners. They conquered Malwa. On their way back, they ran out of food stocks. Military officers were ordered to procure food from wherever they could. But as a result of their scorched earth policy, everything was destroyed and no food crops could be seen anywhere around. That is why there is no greater curse than war. A single war bearings destruction whose effect lasts for fifty years. Even after wide spread search, they could find no food crops anywhere. Everything had been destroyed during the war. After a long search they came across an aged man, who promised to show them the field from where they could gather a rich harvest. At a short distance from there, they faced a big luscious green field and said they could get enough food in it. But the old man took them some distance away and told the officers to collect food from there. The officers wondered why they were brought to the section field even though the first and the bigger field was not his, while the second and the smaller one belonged to him. The officers were taken aback by the honesty and selfishness of the old man.
        Only he who can relegate his own interests for the sake of those of others can in reality be the head of an organization.

Sublime Joy
        The second principle of management is sublime joy. That organization proves strong where the merits of others are recognized and appreciated. No organization can even be conceived wherever there is bulling and grabbing  and where each one tries to pull a fast  one to another. We know how big families disintegrate because of mutual wrangling and facetiousness.

Compassion
        The third principle of management is compassion, i.e., trying to solve the problems of others. Today the word compassion is being used in a narrow sense. In our use it means feeling concerned when someone faces some difficulty or problem and trying to find it's solution. It presupposes eschewing cruelty altogether.

Considered Disregarded
         The fourth principle of management is considered disregard. There is no organization in which all members are alike. There are differences among them. One of our problems is born of gradation or distinction of emotions. People do not have the same emotions. Psychology recognizes some basic instincts, each one of which has related emotions which arouse those instincts. Thus anger is the emotion which arouses the instinct of pugnacity or belligerence. Fear rouses escapism. People differ in the development of their instincts and their emotions. It becomes extremely difficult to harmonize them. Emotional divergence becomes a major cause of the disintegration of a family. One member is given utmost obedience, while another comes up with several reasons for not agreeing. How to solve this problem? An important principle preached to meet such a situation is: Show discreet disregard occasionally. A certain individual is not very desirable and yet has to be kept in the organization. For it discreet disregard has to be practiced. In other words, some degree of neutrality has to be observed. Neutrality is an important component of good management.

It all depends on one's own desire.
        One of the Acharyas made the following submission to Lord Mahavira: ' I want to travel in that particular region'. Lord Mahavira tried to dissuade him but he did not relent. He kept on insisting on going there. Mahavira saw that he was obstinate.
He knew the harm accruing from the travel, but there was no way of dissuading Acharya. So Mahavira just kept quiet disregarding the submission. In this context the following couplet is very opposite:
        Arhats (the 24 Tirathankars or Jain saints) are very powerful, but can they force an individual to perform a desirable action? They can merely inspire. It is upto a man's desire if he wants a good life. Can anyone forcibly make someone else righteous? No, it is not possible. Therefore it is necessary to practice discreet disregard as the time and place demand.
        Even though these four principles of management-- friendship, sublime joy, compassion and considered disregard-- belong to the past, they are unquestioned relevance for present-day management. It is for this reason that modern management, while adding some new principles, has retained a few old ones too.

A Vital Principle of Management.
        Anuvrat has put forward an important principle of management. Life is truly self-restraint. Self restraint is a vital principle of management. Modern management  has either ignored it or has not given it the importance due to it. Anuvrat reiterates an old truth -- life is truly self-restraint. Only that organization will last which has individual completely dedicated to self-restraint. And it is only such an organization that can be a source of inspiration.

Speech Restraint.
        One of the components of self-restraint is speech restraint. For any organization, be it political, social, religious or familial, speech restraint is vital for its head to observe, because in its absence, either the organization will not form at all or, it formed, will soon disintegrate. Utmost care has to be taken in this regard, for sometimes, even the use of one wrong word becomes the cause of the destruction of an organization. Lord Mahavira, Lord Buddha and Acharya Bhikshu were all subjected to abusive language and other unworthy treatment. But they kept quiet; not a word escaped their lips that could have harmed the organization. We know that sometimes a single expression become responsible for a war. Maharana Pratap and his brother Shakti Singh became sworn enemies on the single question of  who actually killed the deer, since both shot arrows at it at the same time. Each one kept saying : ' I killed the deer' and this single utterance caused all trouble.

Life is Self  Restraint.
        It is obvious to people that food, water and more importantly, breath mean life, but they wonder how self restraint can be
life. They forget that eating and drinking water are life, but not eating and not drinking water are better life. As for breath, it is indeed life, but the Acharyas of Yoga have pleaded in favour of breath-control, retention of breath, deep breathing, for living a
longer and healthier life. Breath control and control over eating and drinking water prolong life.

Control of Desires.
        One of the important components of self-control is control over desires. Everything desired is not necessarily desirable, for, the desire in another man may result in a clash causing destruction and death.
        A wise man knows how to curb and birdle his desires. He does not set about fulfilling each one of his desires. Desires keep multiplying and it is not possible to to fulfill all of them. A wise man, an organizational head and a disciplined member of an organization do not go about proclaiming that once they have a desire, they invariably satisfy it.

Body Control.
         Physical control is also very essential. If one acts on the impulse and slaps another member of the family for the flimsiest
reason, the family will be harmed. The hand has to be kept under control. Anger unexpressed harms the angry person himself ;it
does harm any one else so long as it is not expressed. The Agamas explain it thus: making a failure of one's anger and making a success of one's anger. Anger fails if kept to oneself. Anger manifests in two ways- hurling abuses or using physical force to harm or kill. Preventing anger from succeeding is physical restraint. Correctly understood, self-control can prove a vital part of management.
 
Nondiscrimination.
       One of the principles of management is non-discrimination. I  would not aver that a family is completely free from discrimination. Some discrimination, even in the mind, cannot be ruled out. But it should not be such as others would find disagreeable, and as knows no end. When collective will-power is discussed in social psychology, it is held that there should be
as little discrimination as possible.

Practice of Balancing Emotions.
          Let us step forward and add a new principle of management. It is the practice of  balancing emotions. It is not being
practiced today, but it is the greatest need of the day. No proper equation can be struck if we do not go beyond admitting that there are gradations of emotions. What we need is training in balancing emotions. How is it possible? For it we have first to have
the conviction that it is possible to balance emotions. We lack this deep conviction. On the other hand we take it for granted that
emotions will as they are- that anger, fear and lust are beyond change. Such a state of  mind rules out the possibility of emotional
balance.

Destiny can be changed.
         The Jain mode of spiritual practice concedes that human effort can change destiny. It is my firm belief that new directions
of development, change and management can open only if we believe in the principle that astrological predictions based on horoscopes and lines can be falsified and refuted. Let us accept the fact that the future can be shaped and that it has happened
in innumerable cases.
         Revered Gurudev was once spending the four rainy months in Rajaldesar. An astrological prediction stated that he would not be able to leave Rajasthan. When he did move out of there, the prediction was made that he would not be able to hold the
Maryada Mahotsav at Sujangarh. That too was duly held. Then the third prediction, said he would not be able to proceed to Delhi. He reached Delhi hale and hearty.
         I must say that the fore tellers were also not wrong. I too know astrology a bit and believe in it too. The predictions were
not inaccurate at all, but they were rendered inaccurate. Strong character, willpower and self confidence reduce those predictions
to nothing. They would have come out true in the absence of those strong qualities. But now the foretellers have been rendered
speechless.
         What is the reason? Let us consider both the sides. Let us not blame astrology either, but let us understand well the principle which Mahavira laid down for us. If our endeavour is earnest, if we are self confident, if our resolve is firm and if we
exercise restraint at the same time, everything can be changed, can be left behind. We should accept the idea that emotions can be balanced and harmonized.

Contemplating Harmony.
         Constant practice and experimentation are essential for contemplating harmony. You should know how much effort by
way of experimentation and practice had preceded the falsifying of the above predictions. Kayotsarg was practiced for hours and self-contemplation was done during Kayotsarg together  with experiments in fortifying will-power. No transformation is possible without repeated practice. One of the types of contemplation practiced as part of Preksha Dhyan is contemplating
harmony, reconciliation and balancing emotions. Practiced over a long period it enables a man to balance his emotions

A Good son : A Good Father.
            Let us try to analyze the present state of the family. Parents are often heard saying they are in no position to say anything
to their sons, even to ten- year olds. How can one think of  a good and well-managed family under these circumstances? What is
the cause of this lack of discipline?The answer is simple- because the habit of discipline has not been formed. According to an old saying one who has not been a good student cannot become a good teacher.On the same analogy it can be said that one who has not been a good son cannot become a good father. Given early instruction and practice in discipline, no child shall in
later life be guilty of breach of discipline and obedience.Parents themselves do not practice friendliness, nor do they care for the
well-being of their son. How can then there be in the son a feeling of respect and discipline? The thing most needed is friendliness and concern for well-being. What todays parent's are worried about is how to get their son admitted to a public or a
convent school, to Mayo College or Doon Public School, so that after receiving exclusive education they might earn big salaries
and marry rich girls. They rarely worry about their sons future.

Worrying about the Loved Ones.
          Worry can be on two counts- worrying about the loved one and worrying about his well-being. People do worry about the former but not about the latter. The building of a good life is related to the latter. If a fond mother falls prey to the instinct of
maternal love and gives the child something prohibited by the physician to eat, she does not indulge her love but in the process
does infinite harm to the childs well-being.

Worry about the Well-being.
            Love takes a back seat when the focus is on the well-being. But in todays families it is the former that has driven away the latter. It accounts for the fact that discipline is on the wane, homogeneity is lacking and the collective feeling is not developing. And in their absence the joint family loses its very raison d'etre. The head of the family must realise that he should not worry only about those things desired by the family but also about the well being of the family.
            We have had a brief consideration of management in the context of family. By combining the modern principles of management and those enshrined in ancient Indian culture, the foundation of the family can be strengthened and its proper development can be ensured.

                                                     Birth of the New Man

         Development is a new process. So is discipline. The cycle of rise and fall goes on incessantly. Man has in all ages conceived of development and has also made efforts to bring it about. If we travel back in time, we find that Krishna, Mahavira, Buddha and countless wise and erudite thinkers tried to make their times better. Everyone wants to see that man improves progressively. In recent years also books like Daffler's Third Wave and Kapler's Tao Physics represent the same urge. They indicate the need for something new.

The Concept of Subject-oriented Man.
        Even a great scientist like Einstein conceived of a subject-oriented man. Until now, man has been object-oriented. The time has come that man should try to become subject-oriented. When asked what he would like to be next, Einstein replied, ' I have worked more on the object in this life, now I wish in the next life I should do more work on the subject and try to know him who knows. So far I have worked on that which is known, now I want to work on that who knows.'

The Dream of a New Man.
        A new concept has been on the air. Mahatma Gandhi also presented a model of a better man. Maharsi Arvind too dissatisfied with man as he is and so conceived of a superman. In fact, there is a universal desire for development and novelty. The Anuvrat Anushasta has also conceived of a new man. It is a fascinating idea. The birth of a new man means structuring a new brain.

Why does it Happen?
        Brain specialist post three layers of the brain :
            1. The limbic system
            2. Reptilian
            3. Neocortex
        Which of these layers affects modern society? Sometimes we are assailed by perplexing questions : Even though educated, why has this man accepted bribes? Known to be very wise why has this man committed suicide? Evan though prudent, why has this man indulged in bank dacoity? The questions were answered in old times in particular way. Using the language of  Karmavad the Jain Acharyas have the following answer : " These things happen because of Moha Karma (the fourth deluding Karmas at whose appearance a soul is subject to attachment, hatred, passion, sexual enjoyment and falsehood).' Similarly, in the geeta, when asked why man unwittingly falls a victim to sinful deeds, Lord Krishna replied," All the criminal aberrations are the direct result of Kaam (desires/passion) and Krodh (anger). " Today's scientist does not concern himself with Moha, Kaam and Krodh. He explains the phenomenon differently : man practices injustice and oppression, transgresses and spreads terror whenever he is under the reptilian brain the dominant influence.

The View of the Brain Sciences
        The Brain Sciences maintain that the above layer is millions of year old and came into being in the reptilian creatures. It persist to this day in the human brain. Modern scientists do not subscribe to the view that it is the mullas and pandits who cause communal frenzy. They are only instrument in bringing it about. The real cause of the communal strifes lies in the reptilian layer of the brain. Undoubtedly, religious leaders activate it and bring people under its dominating influence. Nothing of the kind would happen if the reptilian layer were not there.

When will the New Man be Born?
        The concept of new man implies restructuring the human brain so that the dominant role is played by another part of the brain. The influence of the animal brain is to be curbed and that of the last layer, neocortex, is to be made prominent. It would change our life's direction and a new man would be born, who would be immune to communal frenzy and would indulge in inessential violence.

Three Principles.
        Anuvrat has put fourth three principles :
            1. Do not indulge in inessential violence.
            2. Do not spread communal frenzy and do not practice untouchability.
            3. Do not be wedded to sectarianism and do not shed blood in the name of religion.
        Strict observance of these principles will lead to the birth of new man. He will be worthy of living on this earth and he will make the earth a worthy place to live on. Today man is dreaming of building cities in space. Some are heard that saying that cities would be built under the ground too. But it will be the same man who will people these cities, no different from those who live on the earth now. How can then one expect that peace would prevail in the new cities? They would be as disturbed as this world. Therefore, the first thing for man to do is to be worthy of living on this earth. And it will be possible only when he gets rid of self-conceit or personal vanity.

Self-conceit for What?
        There is a story mentioned in one of the Puranas . Once a husband and a wife felt a strong inner urge to spiritual practice. Both set out on the quest together but in different directions. Their spiritual practice lasted several years during which period they acquired certain metaphysical powers also. Having accomplished the goal they started their journey back. They met half way and greeted each other. The husband felt conceited about his metaphysical power and refused to talk there he asked his wife to go walking on the water in a nearby sheet of water and talk there. The wife could see through his vanity and in order to beat him on his own ground suggested that they should talk while flying in the sky. The lesson was driven home, since he did not have the metaphysical power of flying. Then the wife said," Why should any thing make one conceited? Even a small fish can float on water and a trivial bee can fly in the sky. Why should we not train all our practice at enabling us to walk the earth worthily and to make the earth a worthy place to live on?

State of the Law of the Jungle
        One has the feeling that the earth is not a place worth living on; only that one cannot help living on it. It is full of too many problems to let people live in peace. Look at the mega cities accommodating millions of people and breeding all kinds of evils like grabbing, blackmailing, terrorizing, thieves, raping, and kidnapping. Law and order seem to have broken down completely, leading a jungle-like state.
        Attention will have to be paid to the brain for making a new man. Innumerable people are busy trying to bring about a change in the social system. Similarly, a large number of people are making efforts to change the economic system. Our century has seen efforts at changing both the social and economic systems, and even now, they are continuing. Has any success been achieved? Inspite of them neither the social nor the economic system has changed. Plans to end hunger, poverty and price escalation remain confined within election manifestoes. What has really happened is that rich have grown richer and the poor have become poorer.

Two Ways of Effecting Change.
        We can identify the cause of failure if we take into consideration both the scientific and spiritual contexts. Spiritually speaking, the cause lies in the fact that society is doing nothing to subdue lust, anger, passion, conceit, and greed; on the contrary it is inciting them all the more. If the process and education of subduing passions is started, both the social and economic systems can be changed. From the stand point of science, the cause of the failure lies in the hyperactivity of the left lobe of the brain. No efforts are being made to activate the right lobe. In my opinion, the above two ways are about the best for changing the system. The present state is like one in which the car engine is being constantly changed and improved but complete indifference is being shown to the driver. We may produce the best and the most advanced aircraft, motor car and ship, but they may turn out to be instruments of disaster in the absence of a skilled pilot, driver or captain. It is here that the problem exists and it should be properly attended to.

Factors Responsible for effecting change
        Anuvrat says that no system, howsoever good, will ensure good results unless the quality of the individual is good. Do we not have a good constitution? Do we lack a good jurisprudence? Both are questionably good, but the important thing is the quality of those who have the responsibility of applying and implementing them. The basic question here is how to resolve the above problem. The solution lies in activating the layer of the neocortex brain. It is beyond the ability of political parties and various institutes and organizations.
        For effecting the change the following three factors are responsible :
        1. Primary Education
        2. The Media
        3. Religious Teachers

Education
        Primary education is very important for structuring the new brain, for education helps develop the child's brain. It is between the ages of five and ten years that the crucial decision as to which layer of the brain has to be made more effective has to be taken. There will be no need to worry about the college and university education, if we succeed  in arranging the right type of primary education. By giving proper attention to the child and its brain upto the he or she enters the secondary stage, it should be possible to change the social and economic systems, and exploitation, crime and corruption control.

The Media.
        The second important element are the media. They should resolve not to give publicity to any event or use language likely to excite and activate the animal brain. A great opportunity of radically improving the situation will be created if media restraint is observed.

Responsibility of a Religious Teacher.
        Religious teacher can play the most important role for achieving the above purpose. The situation can be changed and improved if they take the vow that good habits have to be formed in their children and their animal brain has to be rendered ineffective.
        But the difficulty lies in the fact that education itself has been a big problem; it is not delivering the goods with the result that it is not imparting excessively what it should not. Time and again, we have stressed the need for finding ways of taking away from what is being thought has to be given to how much else can be added. Unless it is attended to, it is not possible to bring about institutional changes in the social and economics systems.
        The media too are wanting in this regard. Much of what is appearing in the newspaper and radio programmes and on the television screens is simply incapable of developing personality and refining the animal brain.
        Even religious teachers are making no efforts in this direction. They are busy ensuring their safety and survival, with the result that due attention is not being paid to matters concerning reform. Thus, all the three agencies-- education, the media and the religious teachers-- capable of transforming society are at the moment inactive.

Let us Aim at the Subtle.
        The solution of the problem will be difficult to find until we move from the gross to the subtle world, with the result that many new facts have been successfully discovered and many important inventions have been made. This would have been impossible had science confined itself to gross world. There was a time when religion also entered the subtle world. In fact the very purpose of religion was to move from the gross to the subtle world. But in course Of time, religion too strayed and got confined to the gross world. It has got involved with what the eyes can see, what is sensually satisfying and physically pleasing and is stuck there unable to enter the subtle.

The Banyan Tree inheres in the Seed.
        The following incident is mentioned in one of the Upanishads. The sage Uddalaka said to his son Shvetaketu,' Go and bring a fruit to the banyan tree growing in front of our place.' Shvetaketu did accordingly. Then the sage again asked,' What do you see inside it.' Thereupon Uddalaka said, 'Whatever there is, is inside it. You  used your gross sight. If you use your subtle sight, you will find that it contains a whole banyan tree within it.'
        We are eschewing the subtle which has the potential for bringing about transformation. We are avoiding the place where change is impossible and are aimlessly roaming in a place incapable of ushering in the change.

Law versus Personal Resolution
        Anuvrat philosophy has concentrated on the subtle. A resolution or vow is nothing but a firm spiritual resolve. It is not a law, for law and personal resolution are different in nature. Law results in obedience only within the scope of surveillance. Constant vigil is essential to enforce law and avoid it's breach. Hush money and bribes are accepted away from public gaze and law does not come in the way. Law becomes an obstruction when there is someone to see. On the other hand, a vow is practiced with vigilance under the public gaze and with more vigilance when nobody watches. One who takes the vow is spiritually alert and feels the moral responsibility of practicing it all the more when no one watches. He becomes all the more alert  when he thinks that even if no one watches him, there is atleast god to watch him. In this connection I would like to mention Seth Sumer Malji Dugad of Sardarshahar. He was a rich merchant and he had overflowing stocks of sugar when the government clamped control over sugar. He preferred to have tea without sugar to tampering with stocks even though there was no one to watch. It is a fine example of upholding the sanctity of a vow.

The Concept of Development.
        It should be based not on laws but on vows. A vow touches our subtle intellectual awareness, whereas law touches its gross counterparts. In fact, we have shown greater respect to laws not to vows. If both are respected, together they could transform the circumstances. However, for this to happen, it is essential that we first change our concept of development. At present what passes for development is also gross in character. Those countries and individuals are deemed developed who have unlimited consumer articles, palatial houses, luxurious cars, radio and television sets. We do not regard a developed brain as a necessary component of development. Everyone knows that corruption continues unabated despite material and economic prosperity. It is common knowledge how Presidents and Prime Ministers have faced charges of corruption and how some of them have even lodged in prisons.

The Only Choice.
        It is natural to ask why all aberrations are taking place despite unprecedented intellectual development. The answer is that we have made a every effort to arouse its desirable layer. It is in this context that Anuvrat's insistence on going from the gross to the subtle and from laws to vows and on developing the human layer of the brain by incapacitating the animal layer, becomes synonymous with the birth of the new man. Once the new man is born, a society and era shall come into being. It is not an easy task to accomplish, but I do not think there is any other way of accomplishing the goal. The dream of the Anuvrat Anushasta can come true and a new man take birth if we concentrate on subduing passions and incapacitating the animal brain through active efforts, education and training.

                                   Training in Non-Violence: A Universal Dimension.

        Non-violence and introspection are not unrelated. Similarly, violence and looking outwards cannot be kept apart. Man is bound to resort to violence if he always has seen material objects and people other than himself. As soon as he starts seeing himself and looking within himself, he gets farther and farther from violence, and imbibes more and more non-violence. Non-violence as a principle and its education and training were elaborated thousands of years ago. Mahatma Gandhi applied it extensively and gave world a brilliant example of its practice. But curiosity and awareness about non-violence have been aroused all the more in the light of the phenomenal growth of violence during the last two or three decades

A Question worthy of Consideration.
        People do know the enormous number of killings that took place during the two World Wars. But very few people know the magnitude of killings in the post-second world war period far surpasses that during the two wars taken together. Mass massacres have taken place in fighting Somalia and Rwanda sends shivers down one's spine. Innocent people-- men, women and children in millions are becoming prey to the struggle for power between two tribal communities. What are these small countries upto? Why are they indulging ruthlessly in mass murders on a massive scale? No solution seem to be in sight. Even the great powers and the United Nations are found wanting in displaying enough responsibility for halting them.
        When the conflict is between two countries, big powers like America and England lose no time in mediating them. On the other hand, human life is thought so cheap in Africa that nobody bothers about massacres there. Attempts are made to settle the conflicts only between those countries whose market value is greater. No one is worried about those countries whose market value is less, which are not in position to produce mineral and agricultural products, which are backward in every way.
        All these factors have compelled people to think and wonder when and where this increasing violence in the world will stop. In this context, non-violence assumes greater relevance. Everyone feels that in it alone lies the answer to prevailing violence and if violence is not stopped, humanity would slowly head towards its own extirpation. Therefore, it is very essential to develop non-violence. But how to bring it about? the ultimate solution lies unquestionably lies in non-violence, but working out the right process of developing it presents a complex problem.

A New Star on the Mental Horizon.
        Once revered Gurudev had said that merely discussing non-violence is not enough. It should be supported by research, training and application. With the coming of these three points a new star appeared on the horizon of thinking. The well known literature Jainendraji hailed it as a beautiful idea, and proposed that it be promoted under the rubic of Ahimsa Saarvbhaum (Non-violence Universal). One more plank-Ahimsa Saarbhaum was added as a new perspective to Anuvrat. The men of letters and sarvodaya workers of Gujarat saw in it a view-point according to which by confining oneself to non-violence as a theoretical principle, without adopting the above mentioned three point programme non-violence cannot be promoted. As in science, nothing much can be achieved without research, training and experimentation.

Training : Four Points.
        It is very important to know the method of training. How can one be trained in non-violence? There is an ancient book called Brihatakalp Bhashya, in which a very good method of training is indicated. It has four points : First, recitation of the original text/lesson which in this case is 'I will not willingly kill any innocent being, will not commit suicide, will not kill another person and will not commit foeticide.' The second point is understanding the meaning; the third is learning and constantly questioning whether learning has taken place or not, whether the lesson has been learnt or not; and the fourth is faith-- whether the learner has come to have faith in the lesson taught, in the meaning or interpretation given and in  his own understanding of it.
        Training cannot be promoted in the absence of these four points-- original lesson, its interpretation, its learning and imbibing, and having faith in it. These points are relevant for training of any kind. This important formula of training was given by Acharya Sanghdas and Acharya Malayagiri.

Let a Resolution turn into a Permanent Habit.
        Anuvrat is a code of conduct for training in non-violence. We can rephrase it and say that anuvrat is at once a code of non-violent conduct  and a method or process to training in non-violence. A large number of people adopt anuvrat or process to subscribe to anuvart, but their adoption or profession notwithstanding, they do not complete its process. Full benefits cannot be reaped without going through the entire process. Hunger and thirst cannot be quenched if the intake is a fraction of what is needed. Similarly, unless a full course of medicine is taken, the desired results will not accrue. Religion is being subjected to a similar treatment. The entire process of being religious is not gone through. Reading the religious text is deemed enough to be religious. People accept anuvrat, they read its code of conduct which makes then resolve' I will not willfully kill any innocent being.' But that is not enough. In term of training in non-violence, it is but an incomplete part of it. The resolution will be strengthened when subjected  to self-contemplation. The resolution has to be repeated for a week, two weeks, even four weeks, in fact, until it becomes permanent, imbibed habit. Once it has become that. it need not be repeated further.

Education and Training are Different.
        We are interested in the formation of lasting habits. Therefore, we should avoid the illusion that education has achieved its purpose merely by telling someone not to resort to the evil by telling lies. If someone wants to get good quality underground water, it is no use digging innumerable shallow wells. He has to undertake deep digging and keep digging until the third and fourth layer of water has been reached.
        We do not yet know what training is. Teaching and training are two very different things. The former requires that we learn the lesson and understand its meaning. But when it comes to the latter, words by themselves do not serve much purpose. They do go some way in the initial stage, but they do not become a part of our conduct until their meaning has been fully   imbibed and made part of our very being. It is not unlike food, giving nutrients to the body but not converting itself to blood and flesh until after full assimilation. The culmination of training is formation of  enduring and irreversible habits. With that the task of training is complete.

Illustrations from Anuvrat's Code of Conduct.
        One of the code's vow is,' I will remain alert to protection of environment.' By reading it, understanding its meaning, knowing what constitutes environmental pollution and thus acquiring the right conviction, we prepare the soil for being fit for the planting of seeds. The practice of self-contemplation is the second essential step. The vow has to be uttered nine times, followed by nine silent repetitions through appropriate lip movements, followed further by nine times silent verbalization in the mind, and culminating into the import of the vow becoming an inseparable part of our consciousness. Later, it should be repeated in the posture of relaxation, conjoined first with meditation and then with intensified and sustained visualization of a desired colour in conjunction with associated psychic centre. In fact all the stages of anupreksha or self-contemplation have to be gone through. It is not possible to do this in one day. It should go day after day until one is convinced that the resolution has become a lasting and irreversible part of one's being. It is upto each individual to decide at what point he has acquired consummation.

Resolution and Fulfillment.
        I have no hesitation in saying that the method of training is being followed neither by householders nor by sadhus (saints). A resolution remains a mere resolution without being experimented and acted upon. The harder the experimentation and more vigorous the practice, the easier it is for a resolution to be fulfilled.

Food and Violence.
        Let us concentrate more on the method of training. The first component of  training in non-violence is the food eaten. There is a close connection between food and violence. What matters is the nature of  food. Is it satvik (good and pure) or tamasik (passion-rousing)/ Meat and alcoholic drinks promote violence. When we look back in history, we find that those charged with the task of fighting wars (Kshatriyas in India) were openly allowed to use meat and liquor. Brahmans, Vaishyas and /shudras had no such choice. It is a different matter, though, that in the course of time they too began using them. Wars require cruelty and lack of sensitivity and compassion. Without them violence is not possible. Different people have used a variety if stratagems including modes of entertainment involving cruelty and insensitivity. In some Arab countries young children are tied on to the back of racing camels, which are prodded more and more to run faster and faster while the children cry, weep and die of fear and the Sheikhs and other spectators enjoy the fun. Could anything be more insensitive than it?

The Roman Example
        The Roman Empire was once very powerful. People there underwent successive violent and bloody conflicts and in the process lost all their sensitivity, so much so that they lost interest in traditional ways of killing. As a result, they resorted to newer and newer methods of torturing people to death. The fiercer the death, the greater the enjoyment they derived out of it. Special torture cells were built to entertain the onlookers. No wonder it led to the final fall of the Roman Empire. For violence once unleashed knows no discrimination. So a stage came when they started killing their own kinsmen. Mutual killings ultimately brought down the empire.

The Case Of  America
        The newspapers keep reporting how American soldiers are getting desenstitvized. In Vietnam, Iraq, Somalia and elsewhere, they have had to display their capacity to kill and destroy. They have got so much used to it that the thought of violence does not disturb them any more. Family feuds easily result in senseless violence. Small boys and girls carry fatal weapons like pistols in their hands and enjoy indulging in violent activities.

The Experiment Of  forming Permanent Refined Habits
        Developing sensitivity is essential for the growth on non-violence, and for doing that, one will have to adopt the method of self-contemplation. Perhaps no better method for the above purpose has yet been developed. (Treat all being like yourself). (Weigh all souls on the scale of your own soul). Try to contemplate on these two sayings. Quite a few people who had done so said that it changed their outlook completely. The need of the hour is to practise self-contemplation--repetition of a truthful saying-- for changing one's attitude. Everyone knows how hard a rock is, but through repeated friction a rope makes indentations on it. One important element of training is repeated activity and practice. It constitutes a powerful experiment in forming permanent refined habits.

Non-violence and the Body.
        Another component of training in non-violence is health. We give the word 'Health' a narrow meaning-- a good state of the body, free from any disorder. This is not its proper understanding. But even if we leave out the mental and emotional dimensions of health, physical health itself has a profound relation with violence and non-violence. Nowadays, it is an important subject of scientific study. Malfunctioning of the liver gives rise to bad thoughts and feelings. A low percentage of glucose in the blood rouses the killing instinct including suicide. Again, the violent instinct is aroused by an imbalance in the nervous system or in the secretions of the endocrine gland.

Test are Essential.
        People look after their bodies in order to keep them healthy and free from disease, which is not a bad thing. However, it is equally necessary to direct attention to the effects the major organs have on people's minds and dispositions. Modern medical science requires people to undergo several tests, but rarely do people go in for tests aimed at ascertaining the proper functioning of various endocrine glands like the thyroid, the pituitary and the adrenal. Their tests are essentials for preventing violence.
        Napoleon lost the battle of waterloo. People wondered how a superb warrior with a dream of world conquest met with defeat. An examination of his brain revealed that his pituitary gland had stopped functioning when he took the decision of going to battle at waterloo, prevented him from taking the right decision.

The Meaning of Training in Non-violence.
        Training in the right ways of eating and keeping healthy is very important. A method commanding universal attention, for imbibing non-violence can be found if only scientists take deep interest in it. Since the concept of training in non-violence was put forward, two conferences have been held on the subject and the attention of the people in the world has begun to be drawn towards it. We received many letters inquiring about the method. Ordinary people think that it means sending peace volunteers to a theatre of conflict and settling it through mutual negotiations and third party advice. It may be one angle of looking at problem, but it cannot be regarded as comprehensive method of  training in non-violence. We have restricted the scope of the discussion of non-violence to the domain of war and peace. But in fact it permeates living behaviour. Every man confronts moments of violence and non-violence. Let us go to the root of the matter. The dream of building a non-violent society can come true if we begin our programme of training in non-violence. With a triple training in following a proper dietary regime, principles of healthy living and emotional balance.

The Modern Language Of Peace.
        The U.N.O. was formed to preserve world peace. Now wars do not breakout suddenly. Discussions and deliberations generally take the steam out  and the U.N.O. helps in killing the momentary instinct for war. Not surprisingly, defence experts define peace as the interregnum between two wars. Another reason of the reduced possibility of wars is the almost prohibited cost of modern weaponry as also the balance of power between warring nations. But for it, there would have been encouraged and peace and security would not have been sought to be ensured through increasing weaponeering if the principle of training in non-violence had gained wide acceptance.

Need for Controlling Arms Manufacture.
        One aspect of training in nonviolence is exercising control on the manufacture of arms. The merchants of arms like America are reigning supreme today. The production of weapons has become so excessive that finding buyers has become a burning problem. Therefore, the manufacturing countries are ever looking for a region susceptible to wars so that the excess arms may find a market. How to render the arms industry ineffective should also be a part of thinking on training in non-violence.

A Farsighted Vow.
        Lord Mahavira laid down the following vow for his followers:' I will not manufacture arms, nor will I exchange arms their components '.   Now a-days weapon systems are assembled-the body of the airplane may be manufactured at home and the engine may be bought from elsewhere and fitted into it, or the body of the indigenous tank may be fitted with imported engines, rockets and guns. How far-sighted a vow it was a part of training in non-violence!

A Change of Life-Style is Imperative.
        Another principle of the training in non-violence is a change of life-style. The training will never be complete unless accompanied by the change,. Having a bad life-style  is tantamount to courting failure.
        Once upon a time Kuber (the God of Wealth) became very pleased with one of the devotees and so latter to his home region. Showing him his own priceless and abundant treasures, he told the devotee,' You have worshipped me a great deal. I am very pleased with you. You are free to take back with you as much out of the treasure as you like.' The devotee was simply baffled. Each successive gem turned out to be brighter and more precious than the other. He could not decide which one to take with him and wasted nearly an hour in confusion. Meanwhile there came the guard of the treasure and asked him to quit since the time was out. The devotee protested.' You have turned me out even though I have not been able to select anything to carry with me.' The guard said,' You are foolish like all the others who entered from one door and walked out empty handed from another.' There is a lesson in the anecdote. We may get entry to the Kubers treasure house, but we will not be able to get anything out of it without changing our lifestyle.
        All these methods of training in non-violence should be used. Rising above and going beyond mere discussion and reading of theoretical literature on the subject, if  one makes the above principles an integral part of his nature, it will presage a new dawn in the history of non-violence, for then, it will cease to be a mere verbal artifact and become our enduring and irreversible character.

                                    Where Does Guilt Consciousness Come From?
 
        Pure consciousness is life's greatest blessing. There is no great achievement in life than this. Any impurity in consciousness renders all achievements meaningless. The basic source of life's purity is the purity of intellectual awareness.

Level of Consciousness.
        There are various levels of our consciousness, the most common being that of sensory consciousness or awareness through the senses. There is a special layer which develop the power of intuition, making prescience, future knowledge and secret  knowledge possible. A more developed layer relates to the state of transsensory or suspersensory consciousness. However, common and sensory consciousness through which you get to know the external objects allows both possibilities of the presence and absence of guilt. Given a favourable environment, consciousness remains guilt free, but in adverse or unwholesome environment impurity infests consciousness.

Unsteady or Distracted Consciousness at Work.
        The entire thing has been very systematically dealt with the science of Yoga, where various states of intellect or the instinctive mind have been described. It can be dull or foolish, unsteady and fickle. Acharya Hemachandra and others have also discussed it. Today if we look at society  as a whole, we find that it is unsteady consciousness which is mostly at work. A fickle mind is a sign of unsteady consciousness and the latter provides ample opportunities of distortions. The possibility of distortion is minimum or nil in a state of steady and concentrated consciousness.

The Reason Lies in Mental Distraction
        If we analyse human behaviour on the twin axes of fickleness and steadfastness, we find that in the latter state not only guilt but all the other abnormal mental status come to an end. The presence of fickleness and steadfastness is a fertile ground for abnormal status is consciousness, including guilt consciousness and it can lead a man stray. Thus the biggest cause of crimes is unsteadiness admits of different degrees. It can be light, medium, and intense. The first does not result in much harm, The second opens up increasing possibilities of harm and the third results in total harm.

Guilt Consciousness : Its Basic Reason
        Use of intoxicants, depression, etc. are instruments in accentuating crimes. Being better acquainted crimes, we tend to pay all attention to the instrumental factors and neglect the basic cause. By concentrating on the latter, we shall discover the ineffectiveness of the instrumental causes and will get greater success in transforming ourselves. The basic cause is unsteadiness of mind, which has to be overcome.
        Let us study the present day society. It abounds in fickleness. The reason is that conscious mind is positioned not in the upper region of the body but near the navel. Diseases and mental aberrations are a direct result of positioning of consciousness near the adrenal glands. It is the basic cause of criminality. It is vital to know where one's consciousness is positioned-- upwards, in the middle or downwards. At present, it is active in the lower region, which is not characteristic of a good society.
        Therefore, if we make a real effort to find out the basic cause of criminality, we will find that it lies in the downward movement of consciousness and in its staying there. Medical science tells us that the region below navel is under the influence of the pingala (in yoga, the right of three vessels of the body running from the loins to the head). It adversely affects mental peace and the purity of consciousness. Herein lies the basic cause of criminality.

The Instrumental Causes of Crime.
        Let us think of the instrumental causes. One of the important causes of crimes is under-development of the brain. People with damaged and retarded brains lacking the power to think are prone to criminal activities.
        Mental agony also encourages criminality. The W.H.O set up a committee to probe into problem of crimes and methods of taking drugs and intoxicants. The findings of the committee reveal how intoxicating drugs command a world-wide market. Of course, since antiquity man has been using intoxicants , because depression and intoxicants are close allies. Feeling of scorn, indifference, ostracism, indigence, anguish and agony are usual in social life. They create tension and distress. He has found in intoxicants do have a certain effectiveness and afford temporary relief to the tense and distressed mind.

Widespread Use of Intoxicants.
        Not everyone who uses this drugs is insane or unwise. Both kinds of men-- wise and unwise-- use them. In one of the surveys made during the presidency of George Bush in America, it was found that some two hundred eighty million Americans were addicted to drugs, Which included not only liquor but also such strong intoxicants as heroin and cocaine. President Bush made an appeal to renounce drugs and set up a fund of seven thousand eight hundred million dollars to fight the menace. Here was a national disaster of a great magnitude. Now it could not be said that all those two hundred eighty million Americans were unwise or unintelligent. They included innumerable educated people and intellectuals. Therefore, it cannot be said that everyone taking drugs is unintelligent, insane, and mentally retarded.

Why do People take Drugs?
        The question why people resort to intoxicants has only one answer : quest of peace. Everyone wants to live in a world where all worries and difficulties can be forgotten. There was a time when L.S.D was the drug of choice for the purpose, since it created an illusion of bliss which draws people to drugs. What can be better for a man suffering from acute pressure and tension that such an illusion?

A State of Helplessness.
        There are innumerable cells in our brain. All our activities are influenced  by the vibrations of the Karma-Sharir, i.e. the body made up of the combination of the eight kinds of karma. These vibrations affect our mind. There are many cells in our body as are the vibrations. In fact the human body is an intricate network of billions of neurons and cells. There are separate chamber of the sensations of joy resulting in a feeling of heavenly happiness. One who experiences and a time comes when the drug addict becomes completely helpless and finds it almost impossible to relinquish it. No one would be so unwise as to advise de-addiction if the feeling of heavenly happiness were permanent. But it is well known that the results of drug addiction are disastrous.

Two Aspects of Thinking.
        Indian thought addressed itself to two aspects; one relating to an activity and another to its result. One thing may look very wholesome at first, but may yield a very unwholesome result. Another may appear very wholesome in the beginning, but may give a very wholesome result. Here is an illustration: Ayurveda has intensively studied substances and their final effects on the users. Thus sugar creates acidity and the emblic myrobalan neutralizes it. Therefore, emblic myrobalan is given to those suffering from hyperacidity. Intoxicants have to be avoided simply because their effect on the users is extremely harmful. In fact all drugs known to produce intoxication have proved harmful.

The Effects of Making Drugs.
        The ill-effects of using intoxicating drugs include depression, inactivity, lethargy, confusion and nervous debility. Excessive intake of alcoholic drinks damages the liver. Use of tobacco poses the danger of contracting cancer of the lungs or cardiac failure. In fact, there is no intoxicant which does not damage or destroy some organ of the body or the other. In practical life, however, use of intoxicants appears quite attractive. In this commercial age of cut-throat competition, unhealthy rivalry and publicity, altruism and human welfare have taken a back seat. The only aim seems to be to dominate the market by any means, fair or foul, promote more and more the consumption of goods produced and earn huge profits.

Crime and Drugs are a Trade.
        Both crimes and drugs are big business. In mega cities like Bombay big companies, mills and property dealers take a help of mafia heads to promote their interests. No intelligent citizen ordinarily likes to violate the law and social order, but man breaks laws and transgresses social order when his consciousness gets contaminated. All social crimes like theft, dacoity, murder, rape, etc., are the results of contaminated consciousness. Uncontaminated and healthy consciousness can never resort to them.

A World-wide Problem.
        Anuvrat is faced with the question : how to prevent crime? Governments do it through penal provisions. States all over the world spend large parts of their budgets on it. In fact, maximum expenditure is incurred only on two heads: wars and prevention of crimes. The magnitude of problems becomes clear by daily reports of smuggling of arms and contraband.

Efforts to free people from Drug-Addiction.
        It is impossible to draw people away from addiction so long as their consciousness is infested by it. Coercion and punishment cannot achieve the goal. Only organisations wedded to pure or uncontaminated consciousness can have the potential to start vigorous drives for preventing resort to intoxicants. Anuvrat also undertook the task of freeing people from drug addiction and its many campaigns in this direction yielded some results too. However, it was felt that it was a stupendous task. It becomes almost impossible for an individual to give up habitual crime and addiction. Special efforts are needed to rid people from taking opium. Similar efforts are being made elsewhere too. Besides other methods, organisation of special camps for the purpose is very essential, because such camps for teaching prekhsa dhyan generally prove successful.

Concentrate on the Ear.
        One of our important physical organs is the ear. In the context of preksha dhyan, it is called the centre of vigilance. It is the biggest centre of alertness. Ordinarily, people use it for no other purpose than to prop spectacles. Ear-pulling is now no more than an idiom. In good old days, teachers invariably pulled the ears of erring pupils, but it too is no longer in vogue. In fact, a teacher would run into all sorts of troubles if he were to resort to ear pulling. Anyway, the ear is a very important psychic center in our body. Concentration on this centre is a sure way of ridding oneself of addiction to intoxicants. We will not have to be told to leave liquor, cigarettes or other intoxicants. A chemical process will set in motion by concentration on the psychic centre located in the ear, whereby addiction to intoxicants will automatically vanish.

In the Absence of an Alternative.
        One of the intoxicants is morphine. Even the medical profession uses it as an analgesic. Recent discoveries have revealed that our body itself produces a chemical called endorphin. As long as endorphin is being produced there is no need of morphine. It is evident that no one wants to live in pain, under distress and tension. One seeks relief from the above condition and for that he tries to find out an alternative. In the absence of something better, he opts for the alternative of taking intoxicants.
Similarly arise when major surgery is performed under the influence of anesthesia whereby artificial insensitivity is induced and the sensations of pain are blocked from travelling to the brain. The patient experiences no pain. Even sleep is intoxication of a sort. Lord Mahavira has treated sleep, sensuality and pugnacity as spiritual apathy or lack of spiritual vigilance.

Method of De-addiction.
        Crime and drug addiction have their best antidote in an alert consciousness or spiritual vigilance. In this case it means being oblivious of everything and everyone except the ear. When consciousness is directly and exclusively concentrated on the ear, it will be thoroughly purged leading to spiritual awakening, which is the best way of being de-addicted. To repeat their is only one way to freedom  from crime and drug addiction--spiritual vigilance. Indian method of spiritual accomplishment introduced a practice called Ajapajab i.e.silent nonverbalized repetition of a mantra. While undertaking a repetition of a mantra, a stage may come when the practice becomes a part of breathing by inhering in it. With the attainment of such a culmination, no conscious repetition of a mantra is necessary anymore, for having merged with breath, it goes on incessantly not only when one is awake but also when one is asleep.

An Easy Exercise.
        One of the exercises of prekshadhyan is called Bhavkriya. Whatever we do, we should do in a state of complete awareness. Meditation can last an hour or two, but bhavkriya can go on day and night. All that is required that no action or activity should be undertaken in a state of spiritual apathy. Whatever is done should be done in a state of spiritual alertness. Crime and drug taking belong to the state of spiritual anesthesia. So what we need is a programme aimed at ensuring spiritual vigilance in every individual. Only then we be ten able to solve the present crises, for it is a course of action which admits no alternative if we want to seek a permanent solution to the problems of crime and drug addiction. Homeopaths, acupressurists and ayurved practitioners prescribe ways of getting rid of drug addiction. But the exercise of spiritual vigilance is so simple that adopting it, one can transform consciousness without the aid of medicines or physicians.

Moral Blemish Removed.
        Once during one of the prekshadhyan camps, there came a handsome young man to the camp. After practicing dhyan for three days, he said ,' Maharaj, I was a hard drunkard, but today I do not know what has happened so that I have developed an aversion for alcohol and resolved to give it up for ever.' Later on, his friends expressed their amazement at such radical change of a man who was an incontinent addict to alcohol. Later still, his grandfather came and told us that the young man was, before joining the camp, a dark blot. We were unaware of his addiction nor did we ask him to give it up. Like all other participants, we had asked him also to concentrate on his ear and it brought about such a major transformation.

The Best Method
        An important exercise for transforming consciousness is focussing total attention on the psychic centers. We should dislodge the consciousness from near the naval and let it move upwards respectively to the Center of Bliss (Thymus),Center of Purity (Pharyngeal plexus), Center of Vigilance (Sense-organ of Hearing), Center of Intuition(Pituitary) and Center of Wisdom (Cerebral cortex). As consciousness moves higher and higher, the propensity of crime and drug taking shall come to an end. We should find a way of uncovering and purging our consciousness, so that it settles in the upper region. This is the best method of ridding consciousness of criminality