$JES 901 Jainism and Spiritual Awakening E9

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

Page 99

15-JAIN WAY OF LIFE AND ETHICAL LIVING AND ENVIRONMENT
Please remember that if we consume dairy products for our personal use, then we are responsible individually for our actions and the resulting karma or sins. However, if we use the dairy products in the temples and religious functions, it is considered that the entire community commits the sin. For this reason, we do not use root vegetables in religious programs even though more than 95% of Jains of North America consume root vegetables at home.
Almost all Jain youth (YJA and YJP youth) of North America accept the fact that extreme cruelty to cows exists in the dairy industry and that the usage of dairy products in religious functions grossly violates our basic principles of Ahimsa. About 15% of Jain youth are vegan. Our youth will appreciate such changes in our rituals. The New York Times reports that, mostly for ethical reasons, more than six million Americans are vegan.
The Guru's Cat
Each time the guru set for worship with his students the Äshram cat come in to distract them, so he ordered them to tie it when the Äshram was at prayer.
After guru died the cat continued to be tied at the worship time. And when the cat died, another cat was brought into the Äshram to make sure that guru's order was faithfully observed at worship time.
Centuries passed and learned treatises were written by the guru's scholarly disciples on the liturgical significance of tying up a cat while worship is performed.
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JAINISM AND SPIRITUAL AWAKENING