(Skt., non-injury) The ethical principle forbidding injury to all living creatures, subscribed to by many Hindus and Buddhists. It enjoins vegetarianism, pacifism, and in a pure form requires taking extraordinary precautions, such as sweeping the path before one walks on it, or straining liquid one drinks in case one inadvertently injures a living thing. Politically its most famous expression was Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent movement of passive resistance to British rule in India.
Philosophy dictionary. Academic. 2011.