Ahimsa Crisis You Decide

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

Page 85

bodies, Lord Mahavira gives a fivefold classification. According to him, bodies are one-sensed, two-sensed, three-sensed, foursensed and five-sensed. The micro level creatures in air, water, earth, etc. are one-sensed. On the other hand, human beings or other large creatures have five senses. The level of prana in these categories of life forms increases with the number of senses. For example human beings have ten pranas. According to Lord Mahavira, the killing of a human being is far more sinful than the killing of lower forms of lives possessing lesser number of pranas by being a vegetarian rather than a meat eater. An ahimsak respects the hierarchy of one-sensed through five-sensed life forms. He knows that all life forms are not equal in terms of the degree of himsa (pain and suffering) felt. Thus he bases his daily actions and living on this hierarchy. An ahimsak seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, all living beings for food, clothing, or for any other purpose. Shown below is a summary of the number of pranas, and the pain and suffering experienced by a jiva: • One-sensed beings have four pranas; these include: life
span, physical power, respiration, and sense of touch. • Two-sensed beings have six pranas, including: life span,
physical power, respiration, sense of touch and taste, and
vocal power. • Three-sensed beings have seven pranas, including: life span,
physical power, respiration, sense of touch, taste and smell,
and vocal power. • Four-sensed beings have eight pranas, including: life span,
physical power, respiration, sense of touch, taste and smell,
seeing, and vocal power. • Five-sensed (non-sentient jiva) beings have nine pranas;
these include: life span, physical power, respiration, sense of touch, taste, and smell, seeing and hearing, and vocal power.
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
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