Glory Of Jainism

SR No.: 269278
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Total Pages: 39
Language: English
Classification: Article
File Size: 6 MB

Page 22

- 21 - prohibits the consumption of green roots like potatos, onions, garlics, green turmeric and ginger too. Because these artioles. of food are grown under the earth in comple te darkness without seeing the rays of the light and by eating such food stuffs, the Jainas believe that knowledge becomes deluded and contaminated with impurity. Knowledge is exclusively intended for developing mercy, compassion, sympathy and insight of discriminate between the right and the wrong. But once the pure knowledge is contaminated and deluded, it will become the source of all evil tendencies like passion, ambition, desire, jealousy, malice, anger, price, prejudice, revenge, greed, fraud, deceipt, crookedness, hatred, fabrication and all such vices and corruptions in man. The se vices are the natural outcome of the adulteration of knowledge created by taking impure and improper food. Therefore, the consumption of such improper food is strictly restricted for the Jainas. Food prepared in darkness and also root and vegetables grown in darkness und erthe earth are tabooed by the Jainas with the sole object of avoiding adulteration in the prime ry quality of knowledge inherent in the soul. According to Jainism, the soul is nothing but an energy of intelligency or knowledge. Only two energies are administer ing this world and the entire universe; the energy of intelligency and the energy of mechanism. The energy of intelligency is only manifested in the soul and not in any other substances; and the enemy of mechanism is the sole property of the Matter and it is inherent in Matter alone and not in Soul. Even the degree of mercy is measured on the scale of feelings, knowledge and consciousness according to Jaina philosophy. In India, the deed of injuring or hurting 11ving creatures of more conscious