Editing Ahimsa (section)

===Modern times===
[[File:Portrait Gandhi.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Gandhi]] promoted the principle of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} by applying it to politics.]]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, prominent figures of Indian spirituality such as [[Shrimad Rajchandra]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Pyarelal|title=Mahatma Gandhi-the Early Phase|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8P0KAQAAIAAJ|year=1965|publisher=Navajivan Publishing House}}</ref> and [[Swami Vivekananda]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Religious Vegetarianism|editor-link1=Kerry S. Walters|editor-last1=Walters|editor-first1=Kerry S.|editor-first2=Lisa|editor-last2= Portmess|location=Albany|year=2001|pages=50–52}}</ref> emphasised the importance of Ahimsa.

[[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi]] successfully promoted the principle of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} to all spheres of life, in particular to politics ({{transliteration|sa|[[Swaraj]]}}).{{sfn|Tähtinen|1964|pp=116–124}} His non-violent resistance movement {{transliteration|sa|[[satyagraha]]}} had an immense impact on India, impressed public opinion in Western countries, and influenced the leaders of various [[civil and political rights]] movements such as the American [[civil rights movement]]'s [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[James Bevel]]. In Gandhi's thought, {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} precludes not only the act of inflicting a physical injury but also mental states like evil thoughts and hatred, and unkind behavior such as harsh words, dishonesty, and lying, all of which he saw as manifestations of violence incompatible with {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}.<ref name="XXII-XLVII 1986, p. 11-12">{{harvnb|Walli|pp=XXII-XLVII}}; {{cite book|last=Borman |first= William|title=Gandhi and Nonviolence |location=Albany|year=1986|pages=11–12}}</ref> Gandhi believed {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} to be a creative energy force, encompassing all interactions leading one's self to find {{transliteration|sa|satya}}, "Divine Truth".<ref>{{citation|last=Jackson|pages=39–54|title=Religion East & West|year=2008}}</ref> [[Sri Aurobindo]] criticized the Gandhian concept of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}} as unrealistic and not universally applicable; he adopted a pragmatic non-pacifist position, saying that the justification of violence depends on the specific circumstances of the given situation.{{sfn|Tähtinen|1964|pp=115–116}}

Gandhi took the religious principle of ''ahimsa,'' and turned it into a non-violent tool for mass action. He used it to fight not only colonial rule, but social evils such as racial discrimination and untouchability as well.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Ethics - War: Non-violence |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/against/nonviolence.shtml#:~:text=Gandhi%20took%20the%20religious%20principle,discrimination%20and%20untouchability%20as%20well. |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Gandhi stated his belief that "{{transliteration|sa|[a]himsa}} is in Hinduism, it is in Christianity as well as in Islam."<ref name=par/> He added, "Nonviolence is common to all religions, but it has found the highest expression and application in Hinduism (I do not regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism)."<ref name=par/> When questioned whether violence and nonviolence are taught in Quran, he stated, "I have heard from many Muslim friends that the Koran teaches the use of nonviolence. (...&nbsp;The) argument about nonviolence in the Holy Koran is an interpolation, not necessary for my thesis."<ref name=par>{{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Mohandas K.|editor-last1=Prabhu|editor-first1=R.K.|editor-last2=Rao|editor-first2=U.R.|year=1966|url=http://gandhiashramsevagram.org/pdf-books/mind-of-mahatma-gandhi.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://gandhiashramsevagram.org/pdf-books/mind-of-mahatma-gandhi.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi|publisher=Encyclopedia of Gandhi's Thoughts|pages=120–121}}</ref><ref name=mgarat>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Mohandas K.|year=1962|title=All Religions are True|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|page=128}}
|2={{cite book|last=Banshlal Ramnauth |first= Dev|year=1989|title=Mahatma Gandhi: Insight and Impact|publisher=Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture & Mahatma Gandhi Institute|page=48}} }}</ref>

Studying {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}'s history and philosophy influenced [[Albert Schweitzer]]'s principle of "reverence for life". He commended Indian traditions for their ethics of {{transliteration|sa|ahimsa}}, considering the prohibition against killing and harming "one of the greatest events in the spiritual history of humankind". However, he noted that "not-killing" and "not-harming" might be unfeasible in certain situations, like self-defense, or ethically complex, as in cases of prolonged famine.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schweitzer|first=Albert|url=https://archive.org/stream/indianthoughtsan027860mbp#page/n95/mode/2up|title=Indian Thought and its Development|location=London|year=1956|pages=82–83|publisher=The Beacon Press}}</ref>