________________
Practicing Non-Violence through our Daily Food
345
humans are influenced, through print and electronic media, to continue the consumption of animal products by "scientists" and "medical practitioners", if not for anything else than for health reasons - the so called animal protein. The multi-billion dollar agricultural corporations, who make immense profits in raising and slaughtering animals around the world, have had their impact on society and human consciousness as well. The word used on the stock exchange for the many body parts of an animal, is : commodity. The human intellectcan coldly rationalize and justify anything it wants - in this case, monetary profits gained through killing.
The animal slaughter, though, has been going on for thousands of years. Humans have developed a taste and addiction to the burning and roasting of animal flesh, called meat. No major religions have interfered in this, what I can only describe as - an orgy of slaughter. Some religions have actually condoned this by proclaiming that animals have no souls - only humans have souls. That they are here for our consumption and domination. And so we, as the followers of various religions, have accepted this from an early childhood, without ever questioning the truth of it.
As a Westerner, who had been conditioned as a meat eater through the influence of family and religious tradition, I know this to be so. And, I had to learn that this is not so, by reading philosophers and writers like Albert Schweitzer and George Bernard Shaw, and stopped using animal flesh as my food, 30 years ago. I have also maintained excellent health since then.
Except for the ancient religion of the Jains, no group of people or religions haveever spoken up or maintained, consistently and continuously through the ages, a strong uncompromising stand on vegetarian lifestyle and non-killing of animals for daily food. The Jaina religious leaders, monks, nuns and their lay followers have never eaten meat and yet, Jainism is one of the world's oldest religion - going back into antiquity.
As I observe various religions and see much violence, war and brutality committed in the name of religion and their doctrines, I wonder, how is it possible, for the Jaina religion, to have maintained their
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org