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molar teeth adapted for eating vegetable material. The staple diet of all apes and monkeys, excepting a few, is a selection of fruits and leaves. The largest of apes, the gorilla, lives entirely on vegetation. The study of early skeletons of apeman, homo-erectus, and early homo-sapiens reveal that the teeth of all these were small and rounded. They were not structured like shear blades, as in the case of carnivores. Becoming hunters and meat eaters has been need based and not natural for humans. To man, eating vegetables came naturally and eating meat had to be learned.
As discussed earlier, according to the Jains, besides the gross and visible forms of life, there exist an infinite number of microscopic and sub-microscopic living organisms, which are widely distributed in nature. As such, destruction of some or other form of living organism is inevitable when any food is prepared for human consumption. It may be of plant origin, mineral origin, or animal origin. . We have to consider the quality of life before it is destroyed for human consumption. It is not that by discrimination we are doing something commendable from the viewpoint of practicing Ahimsa. The tarnishing of soul is certainly there, but by discrimination we are choosing a lesser evil.
Man's primary duty, as is the case with all living beings, is towards maintaining his body and health so that he can continue to live and indulge in higher individual pursuits towards purification and liberation. He has to eat regularly, and the food has to be nutritious. Following the path of Ahimsa, he has to be much more choosy. He has to select his food with care, keeping in view that the food is not obtained by wantonly destroying any life forms, as far as practically possible.
AHIMSA: THE SCIENCE OF PEACE 73 Jain Education International
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