(

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: ,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: ) or (

: ;

: ) is the

term for "non-stealing". It is a

virtue A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...

in Jainism. The practice of demands that one must not steal, nor have the intent to steal, another's property through action, speech, and thoughts. is one of five major vows of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

. It is also one of ten forms of temperance (virtuous self-restraint) in

Indian philosophy Indian philosophy consists of philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The philosophies are often called darśana meaning, "to see" or "looking at." Ānvīkṣikī means “critical inquiry” or “investigation." Unlike darśan ...

Etymology

The word "" is a compound derived from Sanskrit, where "" refers to "non-" and "" refers to "practice of stealing" or "something that can be stolen". Thus, means "non-stealing".

Jainism

, it is one of the five vows that all and s (householders) as well as monastics must observe. The five transgressions of this vow, as mentioned in the

Jain text Jain literature () refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the canonical ''Jain Agamas'', which are wri ...

''Tattvārthsūtra'', are: "Prompting another to steal, receiving stolen goods, underbuying in a disordered state, using false weights and measures, and deceiving others with artificial or imitation goods". This is explained in the Jain text, ''

Sarvārthasiddhi ''Sarvārthasiddhi'' is a famous Jain text authored by Acharya (Jainism), Ācārya Pujyapada. It is the oldest extant commentary on ''Ācārya Umaswami's Tattvartha Sutra, Tattvārthasūtra'' (another famous Jain text). Traditionally though, th ...

'' as (translated by S.A. Jain):

Hinduism

is defined in Hindu texts as "the abstinence, in one's deeds or words or thoughts, from unauthorized appropriation of things of value from another human being". It is a widely discussed virtue in ethical theories of Hinduism. For example, in the Yoga Sūtras (II.30), is listed as the third or virtue of self-restraint, along with (nonviolence), (non-falsehoods, truthfulness), (sexual chastity in one's feelings and actions) and (non-possessiveness, non-craving). is thus one of the five essential restraints (, "the don'ts") in Hinduism, that with five essential practices (, "the dos") are suggested for right, virtuous, enlightened living.

Discussion

in practice implies to "not steal", "not cheat", nor unethically manipulate other's property or others for one's own gain. as virtue demands not only that one "not steal", but that one should not encourage cheating through speech or writing, or want to cheat even in one's thinking. The virtue of arises out of the understanding that all misappropriation is an expression of craving and lack of

compassion Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is sensitivity to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based ...

for other beings. To steal or want to steal expresses lack of faith in oneself: one's ability to learn and create property. To steal another's property is also stealing from one's own potential ability to develop. The

Sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...

s reason that misappropriation, conspiring to misappropriate, or wanting to misappropriate, at its root reflects the sin of (bad greed), (material delusion), or (bad anger).

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

held as essential to the human right to life and liberty without fear, and as essential to the human right to property without fear. follows from , in Gandhi's views, because stealing is a form of violence and injury to another person. is not merely "theft by action", but it includes "theft by intent" and "theft by manipulation". Persistent exploitation of the weak or poor is a form of " in one's thought".

Related concepts

—charity to a deserving person without any expectation in return—is a recommended in Hinduism. The motive behind is reverse to that of "stealing from others". is a complementary practice to the (restraint) of .

Difference from

and are two of several important virtues in Hinduism and Jainism. They both involve interaction between a person and material world, either as property, fame or ideas; yet and are different concepts. is the virtue of non-stealing and not wanting to appropriate, or take by force or deceit or exploitation, by deeds or words or thoughts, what is owned by and belongs to someone else. , in contrast, is the virtue of non-possessiveness and non-clinging to one's own property, non-accepting of any gifts or particularly improper gifts offered by others, and of non-avarice/non-craving in the motivation of one's deeds, words, and thoughts. means non-covetousness. is where one stands. is the limit. When one crosses the limit of one's , even by intention it's covetousness, not a virtue. It's misappropriation or manipulation. This principle applies not only to physical property, but also to intellectual property. Crossing one's limit, craving for something or someone rightfully belonging to others even by thoughts or intentions is a sin. “...whosever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” ().

References

Sources

* {{Virtues Jain philosophical concepts Hindu philosophical concepts Relational ethics Jain ethics Hindu ethics