Essay on “Non-Violence ” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Non-Violence

Essay No. 01

POINTS TO DEVELOP

1. Many great people have emphasised on the importance of non-violence.
2. Various interpretations of the term.
3. Non-violence, like other benevolent principles Cannot I be taken to the extreme.
4. Gandhi’s Ahinsa.
5. Violence has increased in the world today.
6. Relevance of non-violence today.

“NON-VIOLENCE IS THE LAW OF SPECIES AS VIOLENCE IS THE LAW OF BRUTE”—

so spoke Mahatma Gandhi, celebrating the need and nature of the principle of non-violence for mankind. All wise men down the ages have preached the doctrine ,of love and non-violence. Zoroaster, Buddha, Mahavira, Christ, Nanak primarily emphasised a moral code that gave due status to non-violence. Non-violence is a philosophy of life, a modus operand which has been accepted as an article of faith in the East as well as the West. But what does the word ‘non-violence’ mean in simple terms? To what extent can and should non-violence be exercised in daily life? And is it not true that the world today is in dire need of nonviolence?

Non-violence has been variously interpreted by different people including philosophers and scholars. Generally, the term means ‘non-injury’ to others. It is a concept based on the fundamental goodness of man. In the fight for what is right and good-freedom, morality, justice and equality, violence must be avoided. All these are to be gained by avoiding use of physical force. One must avoid inflicting pain on others to win one’s goal however true and justifiable it may be. Evil must be resisted in a calm manner and not through violence in thought or action. For almost always violence begets violence-and there will be no end to it. The path of non-violence calls for a great amount of fortitude on the part of the person practicing it to achieve the best of goals. It also calls for courage and a lot of self-sacrifice. Thus non-violence, as Gandhi said, is not the weapon of the coward but of the strong. But to what extreme can the principle of non-violence be extended?

Just like other benevolent principles, non-violence fails to make sense once you take it to an extreme. It is not possible for man to exist at all if he is to ensure that he does not harm or injure a single animal, plant or micro-organism throughout his life. We breathe-and in the mere act of breathing we kill a number of germs and bacteria that cannot be seen by the naked eye. We walk-and the mere act of walking crushes innumerable small, microscopic organisms that abound on the soil. Moreover, injury by itself need not be solely physical in nature; it can be emotional and mental as well. There are no standard and practicable measures by which we can gauge the extent to which an act may cause mental and emotional harm.

Aggression between humans can be repulsed and checked by non-violence. But where the aggressor has no regard for the resulting destruction and bloodshed, total non-violence would only invite aggression. It must be remembered that even Gandhi, the modern profounder of the gospel of ‘non-violence’, allowed the use of violent weapons in the fight for right goals if there was a need.

Mahatma Gandhi is considered the apostle of non-violence. Truly, be expanded the concept so that nonviolence as a principle acquired a totally new meaning and dimension. For him, the path of ahinsa or non-violence was the only way to achieve freedom and truth which was the supreme reality for him. He explained how ahinsa was an active force and not simply a term passive in its meaning. The light through ahinsa was a legitimate struggle that demanded a lot of merit and virtue on the part of its followers. Ahinsa, for Gandhi, was not cowardice. Gandhi encouraged the use of ahinsa so that its practice on an individual level might finally enhance its significance for the nation as a whole-for only individuals constitute a nation! The effectiveness of the message of non-violence preached by Gandhi can be gauged from responses all over the globe-we have self-professed students of the Mahatma in leaders like Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela.

In these modern times, it is violence that has emerged as one of the most common causes of human suffering. The pursuit of material benefits has resulted in growing conflicts between individuals, groups and nations New forms of violence have thus emerged. Highly sophisticated and lethal chemical and nuclear weapons have opened up ways .to inflict a maximum of destruction and damage. In truth, one ought to blame the modern ways of living for the violent tendencies that have taken strong roots in man. There is less of patience, perseverance, true courage, dedication and absolutely no sense of values at all. Man today is lost; and wandering souls can be easily misled in the name of anything. Violence has grown to such an extent today that it has almost acquired some kind of legitimacy. One fears that the growing violent attitude will ultimately wipe out mankind as a whole!

The world is desperately in need of non-violence as a way of life, to spread the gospel of love, brotherhood and peace. Man must awaken and realise that the world of violence in which he is living can blow up on his face at any time. Before time runs out, man must realise the folly of indulging in violence and give it up. Only the path of non-violence can truly provide mankind release from all ills and bring about harmony in the world. Only non- violence can restore sanity around us.

Essay No. 02

Non-Violence

Non-violence  as  a  doctrine  has  been  preached  by  all  wise  men from  time  immemorial.  The  saints  and  sages  all  over  the  world have  preached  the gospel  of  love  and  understanding.  All differences  among  people  can  be  solved  through  love  without resorting  to  violent  means.  Mahatma  Gandhi,  the  greatest champion  of  non-violence,  defined  it  as  Ahimsa,  that  is  showing goodwill  and  love  to  an  antagonist  while  protesting  in  spirit against  his  unjust  act.  It  is  fundamentally  based  on  the spirituality  of  man.  It is synonymous  with  moral  courage.  It is not  mere  passive  courage,  but  is  the  driving  force  of  a  spirit which  seeks  redress  of  moral  grievances.  In  today’s  world,  non-violence  has  to  be  practised  if  mankind,  is  to  survive.  Non-violence  can-prove  a  panacea  for  all  the  ill  of  the  present-day world.

All  wise  men  down  the  ages  have  preached  the  doctrine  of  non-violence and  love.  The  chief  principles  -enshrined  in  the  teachings  of  Buddha Mahavira,  Christ,  Nanak,  Zoroaster  primarily  Jay  emphasis  on  a  moral code  in  which  there  is  no  place  for  violence  to  others  for  ones,  personal gains.  Non-violence is  a  philosophy  of  life.  It has  been  accepted  in  the East  as  well  as  in  the  West  as  an  article  of  faith.

Mahatma  Gandhi  was  the  greatest  apostle of  peace,  and  non-violence  in this  century.  He  defined  his  principle  as  Ahimsa,  that  is  showing  goodwill and  love  to  an  antagonists  while  protesting  .in  spirit  against  injustice  and violence.  It  was  in  South  .Africa that  he  for  the  first  time  experimented with  this  technique  of  peaceful  protest.  He  was  pained  to  see  the  second class  treatment  meted  .out  to  Indians  by  the  British.  There  was  a  terrible colour  prejudice  which  made  the  life  of  the  Indians  miserable.  He  was deeply  hurt  to  see  the  sorry  plight  of  Indians  and  their  working  and  living conditions.  He  became  preoccupied  with  the  question  of  how  to  change these  conditions.  He decided  to  adopt.  the  path  of  peaceful  agitation  and persuaded  Indians  to  join  him  in  his  struggle  for  the restoration  of  their rights.  His  success  in  his  crusade  only  strengthened  his  belief  in  non-violence.

The  first  article  of  non-violence  is  avoidance  of  physical  force  and  pain on  others.  The  other  aspect  lays  emphasis  on  the  moral  courage  and  attitude towards  life  of  an  individual.  It implies that  everyone,  who  is  a  seeker  of truth  must  be  ready  to  undergo  any  trial  of  hardship  in  pursuit  of  his inquiry.  In  this  sense,  non-violence  implies  that  man  must  face  or  resist the  evil  in  his  adversaries  in  a  calm  manner  and  not  resort  to  violence  in thought  or  action  at  any  time.  It  requires  rigorous  training  both  of  mind and  body.  Obviously,  non-violence  is  based  on  the  fundamental  goodness of  man  .and  is  deeply  grounded  in  the  belief  that  given  suitable  opportunity the  conscience  of  man  which  is  basically  good  is  likely  to  prevail  over evil.

In  his  Experiments  With  Truth,  Mahatma  Gandhi  was  convinced  that  non-violence  was  not  the  religion  of  the  coward  but  of  the  strong  and  morally determined.  He  certainly  did  not  advocate,  as  is  often  misunderstood  by his  critics,  cowardly  self-surrender.  On  the  contrary  he  advised  people  to resist  evil  with  determination  in  self-defence.  He  once  said,  non-violence does  not  imply  running  away  from  danger,  leaving  near  and  dear  ones  unprotected.  In  fact,  given  a  choice  between  cowardice  and  violence,  he chose  Violence  any  way.  It  is  only  the  truly  brave  who  can  defy  the  others without  inflicting  injury  on  them.  A  non-violent  person  gives  patient  hearing to  his  opponent;  reasons  with  him  respectfully  and  if  need  be,  expresses his  opinion  on  the  subject  and  firmly  refuses  to compromise  on  his principles.  He  adopts  the  technique  of  non-violence  and  non-cooperation to  fight  injustice  of  any  kind.

Today,  when  the  world  is  almost  on  the  verge  of  a  nuclear  holocaust,  non-violence  as  a  means  of  solving differences  among  civilized  people  is extremely  relevant.  Pandit  Nehru,  one  of greatest  disciples  of  Gandhi, had  admitted  that  he  was  convinced  about  the  futility  of  violence  in  the aftermath  of  war  and  partition  of  the  country  on  the  eve  of  independence. The  human  agony  and  suffering  that  the  world  had  been  Witness  to  after the  partition  of  India  seem  Meaningless  today.  The  communal  passions which  Were  aroused  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  still  have  not  been  resolved. They  continue  to  raise  their  ugly  heads  and  lead  to  countess  deaths  without resolving  the  issues  at  all.  Violence, therefore,  cannot  yield  any  positive result.  It  never  has Sooner  the  mankind  realises  it,  better  it  is  for  its  own preservation.

Super  powers  boast  possessing  weapons  which  can  destroy  the  entire continents  at  one  stroke.  One  constantly  lives  under  the  feat.  of  .a  third world  war  .breaking  out,  which  many  strike  the  death  toll  for  the  entire human  race.  The  amount  of  money  that.  is  spent  on  developing  military Weapons  and  acquiring  most,  sophisticated  aunts  by  almost all  the  countries all  over  the  world  is  simply  outrageous.  If  only  one  were  to  consider  the use  this  colossal  wealth  of  the  world  could  be  put  to  for  the  benefit  of the  mankind!  It  is  never  too late to learn  from  the  lessons  of  history. Aggression  and  violence  have  never  brought  about  any  permanent  solution to  issues.  They only end  up  in  causing  misery  and suffering.  So far violence has been  the  history  of  man.  It cannot be  allowed  to  continue.  The  vain, power-hungry  people  Who  indulge  in  wars  simply  for  the  satisfaction  of their  ambitions  and  greed  must  be  curbed.

The  world  is  desperately  in  need  of  a  Messiah  of  peace,  who  can  once again  preach  the  gospel  of  love,  understanding  and  universal  brotherhood. Man  must  awaken  from  his slumbet and  take  stock  of  the  explosive situation  he  is  living  in.  Before  the  time  runs  out,  man  must  come  to  his senses  and  realise  the  folly  of  indulging  in  wars  and  violence.  Ultimately, non-violence  alone  can  provide freedom  from  all  the  ills  of  the  society and  bring  about  harmony  in  the  life  of  the  people.  It  is  the  only  means  of restoring  sanity  in  the  world.