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argued that he does not want his children growing up weak in the US and feeling inferiority in front of their non-veg peers. And also he does not want to deprive them what he did not do himself. You can imagine the difficulty: in this situation, what more could I have said? I don't have any statistical data or proof, but I am told that in the UK the percentage of Jain youths eating flesh may be as high as thirty to forty percent and is slightly below that here in North America (I ask for forgiveness if I am wrong here). This is simply shocking. Twenty-five years ago, Acharya Sushil Kumar-ji told me that several times he has been hesitant to stay in some Jain homes in US because he often notices meat items in his hosts' refrigerators. Another developing trend is that some Jains have begun openly serving meat items in their homes and also at their publicly organized events such as dinners or luncheons to celebrate birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. I have been to a few such events not even realizing that non-veg meals would be served. What is shocking to me is that some of these people happen to be respectable members of the Jain community. These days, several successful Jains own their own businesses in fields such as IT, medicine, engineering, and consulting. The trend is developing that even some staunch Jains—the owners of these businesses and prominent executives —will not think twice about serving non-veg meals to their important guests and clients. One can see and sense where we are heading. To me, it is unthinkable, but the society in general maintains silence. This is the state of affairs. Now, let me narrate some of my own personal experiences and encounters. o One of my close Jain friends in the US came to this county
quite a while ago, did her studies, began a very high level professional job and married to a non-Jain and non
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
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