Jain Vows, Hindu Restraints, and the Corresponding Human Rights

This study explores the ethical convergence between the Jain vows (vrata) and Hindu restraints (yama) and the principles of modern human rights. Drawing from primary texts such as the Tattvārthasūtra, Yoga Sūtra, Ācārāṅga Sūtra, and Bhagavad Gītā, it examines how the fivefold moral frameworks—ahiṃsā (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacarya (chastity or self-control), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness)—parallel the human rights to life, dignity, property, integrity, and equality. The paper argues that while human-rights discourse emphasizes external, legal guarantees of justice and freedom, Jain and Hindu traditions emphasize internal moral transformation through self-restraint and compassion. These Indic frameworks thus complement and deepen the human-rights paradigm by rooting social justice in personal virtue and metaphysical responsibility. The analysis also highlights key divergences—such as metaphysical versus secular foundations, absolutism versus contextualism, and renunciation versus engagement—while demonstrating their potential synthesis in a globally relevant ethic of spiritual humanism. In an age marked by violence, consumerism, and ecological degradation, the vows of restraint (vrata–yama) offer a timeless moral blueprint for reconciling freedom with responsibility and inner virtue with outer justice.