Ahimsa Crisis You Decide

Author(s): Sulekh C Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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people. Today, this Jain temple—still standing and in use — also houses and supports the a bird hospital for the treatment and care of injured and sick birds. Surrounded by a majority Hindu community, Jains adopted several Hindu rituals to assimilate and live with them in harmony and peace. Even today, most Jain milestones, such as the birth of a child, marriage, or death ceremony, are conducted by Hindupurohits. In India, Jains have been the biggest philanthropists (as part of the practice of ahimsa) by establishing thousands of animal and bird shelters, hospitals, leprosy centers, schools, orphan care centers, and by running free medical facilities, eye clinics, the famous Jaipur Foot for prostheses, and the donation of hearing aids, wheelchairs and clothing to the sick, handicapped, needy, and poor. They are generally one of the firsts to show up to help at natural disasters such as famines, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. For example, many Jain doctors in North America travel to India and African countries every year to provide free medical care. Given instant connectivity in communication, commerce, and travel today, the world has indeed become a global village. But this interconnectedness foregrounds many important issues involving pluralism, democracy, ecology, terrorism, violence, nationalism, human rights, disease prevention and treatment, and other health matters. Also, complications that arise in areas of the environment, law, business, and medicine, (including organ transplant, cloning, stem cell research, genome research, abortion, and the spread of new diseases), food production, transport, space initiatives, and conflict at the local and global levels—all of these places of possibility and connection have created new environments. Unfortunately, some of these challenges are now shaking the very foundations of ahimsa within the Jain communitythe very ahimsa they have treasured and preserved intact for several thousand years.
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An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide