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THE MESSAGE OF JAINISM religious vows, depends not only on their duration or on the quantity of the objects concerned, but, first of all, on
the higher worth of their intrinsic quality. Qualitative For, though all the souls, that is, all the Value of the living creatures, are equal in their Pratyakh- original being, they are still observed to yanas be in various phases of development
towards perfection. They differ in so far as they are in varying stages of self-realisation. According to the basic principle of economy, the higher developed creatures are valued higher than the lower developed ones. Therefore, the Karma bound by harming a higher developed being is thought to be of graver consequences than that bound by injuring a lower creature. Thus, plucking a handful of vegetables is, by far, less harmful than killing a crow; killing a menacing tiger is less harmful than the murder of a peaceful antelope. And punishing a dangerous criminal is, in the same way, of less consequence than an offence done to a saintly monk.
This valuation, by-the-bye, seems to be reflected even in those less refined, yet universally adopted conceptions which prevail among large sections of mankind. For instance, they condemn cannibalism will all expressions of disgust, though they do not object to the slaughtering of animals for food and other purposes. In a similar way, they strictly forbid the bloodshed of a human being, but allow the execution of a murderer, or the slaying of an attacking or otherwise threatening foe. It is clear that all such persons are acting against the principles of ethics. and therefore stand self-condemned.
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com