Citation: Howard, Veena R. 2023. The Nonviolence Conundrum: Political Peace and Personal Karma in Jain and Hindu Traditions. Religions 14: 178. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/rel14020178 Academic Editor: Douglas Allen Received: 8 December 2022 Revised: 19 January 2023 Accepted: 23 January 2023 Published: 29 January 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). religions Article The Nonviolence Conundrum: Political Peace and Personal Karma in Jain and Hindu Traditions Veena R. Howard Department of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno, CA 93740, USA; vehoward@csufresno.edu Abstract: Debates on war and peace within Jain and Hindu traditions revolve around the fear of incurring individual bad karma from violence, potentially inhibiting the individual’s journey to spiritual liberation. Generally, the religious culture of both Jain and Hindu traditions elevates nonviolence to one of the highest moral principles. Jainism embraces ahim . s ¯ a (non-harming) as the central doctrine, and Hindu traditions exalt non-harming as one of the highest disciplines and virtues (dharma). However, a personal spiritual commitment to nonviolence creates tension with the humanistic value of striving for an ethic of social justice and peace. Maintaining social harmony sometimes requires confrontation or targeted violence. It is not surprising that while both traditions laud ahim . s ¯ a for personal peace, they also deliberate on the challenge of using necessary violence to maintain an orderly society. Despite sanctioning limited violence (him . s ¯ a) in acute situations, various texts and myths express a general suspicion for using war or other aggressive methods to solve social and political problems. Keywords: ahim . s ¯ a; dharma; Shrimad Rajchandra; Mahatma Gandhi; Jainism; the Bhagavad-G¯ ıt ¯ a; Mah¯ abh¯ arata; Jain mah¯ avratas To address the tension between the principle of nonviolence and the political and social necessity of violence, this paper will first show how Jain and Hindu texts provide differing positions on the virtue of ahim . s ¯ a, notwithstanding their equal concern for violence. It will then analyze select examples that demonstrate a tension between the individual ethic of nonviolence for householders committed to personal liberation and their social responsibility in professions involving law and order. Finally, by engaging with traditional texts and more recent dialogue between Mohandas K. Gandhi and his contemporary Jains, this paper will analyze how the two traditions seek to address the conflicting goals of social well-being and personal spiritual liberation, requiring withdrawal from the situations of conflict. While responsibility for social peace sometimes requires corrective and militaristic actions, the practice of nonviolence demands abstaining from karma that chain the soul to this existence. I propose that Jain and Hindu sacred texts and historical figures, such as Gandhi, seek to resolve the nonviolence conundrum by demarcating modified ahim . s ¯ a for the householders (the ideology of pravr . tti, societal engagement) and an intensified observance for the renouncers (the inclination of nivr . tti, individual withdrawal from worldly engagement). Setting aside the fear of personal karmic repercussions may be a necessity in service of social harmony (nonviolent and just social order), which may require using violent force at times. Ultimately, the Jain and Hindu resources refrain from providing a philosophical and ethical justification for war. While Hindu texts provide space for a necessary war, its repercussions point to the futility of violence. Similar to some just war theorists in western traditions, they remain skeptical of war because it is inextricably connected to violence. 1 Hence, war can be justified in some situations, but it is never “just” because it violates the ethical principle of ahim . s ¯ a, perpetuating the karmic cycle of violence and bondage to this existential reality. Religions 2023, 14, 178. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020178 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions