$JES 901 Jainism and Spiritual Awakening E9

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

Page 98

15-JAIN WAY OF LIFE AND ETHICAL LIVING AND ENVIRONMENT
E. Jain Way of Life and Dairy Products
The Jain Way of Life is very ethical, and it also respects and honors the Earth and the Environment. Our scriptures indicate that we need to practice our religion based on time, place and the environment that we live in.
A cow is slaughtered immediately in meat production, while the cow is tortured (kept pregnant, fed or injected with hormones and antibiotics) during their milk production cycle. Additionally, almost all dairy cows are slaughtered after five or six years of their lives, even though their life expectancy is 15 to 20 years. It seems that the cruelty that exists in milk production is as bad as that of meat production.
From the point of view of environmental degradation, all animal based products (milk, leather, silk, and wool), cause significant harm to the environment, relative to plant based products.
Both the Shvetämbar and Digambar sects use milk and milk products in temple rituals. This is an ancient tradition. In the past all domestic animals were treated compassionately without interference in their life cycle.
We should reevaluate the usage of dairy products (ghee for Ärati, milk and sweets for pujä etc.) in the temple rituals under the new technological environment. Our scriptures indicate that no tradition is to be followed blindly. The highest Jain principle of non-violence (hurting or killing of five sensed animals) should not be compromised under any circumstances.
Milk and other products represent certain religious symbols in Jain rituals. However, the product we use in the rituals must be from a non-violent source. The intention of our rituals is to inspire us to grow spiritually. The net outcome of the rituals should result in the reduction of our ego, greed, anger, lust, and attachments. Milk and other dairy products, which involve such violence, cannot help us to grow spiritually.
In our rituals, we should substitute regular milk with simple water or soya bean or almond milk, vegetable oil for ghee which is used in "Deevo", dry nuts for various types of sweets, and we should serve only vegan (strict vegetarian) meals during any religious function.
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