________________
express and subject's capacity to understand. The expression depends on the quality of life of the object, while the observation depends on the level or knowledge and purity of the subject.
Since the capacity for expression decreases with lowering of level of life forms, the requirement of knowledge and purity increases. In other words, as the level of knowledge and purity increases the capacity to observe the expressions of lower life forms increases. This phenomenon automatically expands the field of compassion and brings more varieties of life forms into its scope.
The design behind the Ahimsa code is that one gradually purifies oneself, starting at the grosser levels, where one recognizes the feelings of the most expressive of the life forms, human beings. As one purifies the self and pursues the path of knowledge, the capacity develops to observe and recognize the feelings of beings at lower levels of expression. At a certain point of development, this expansion encompasses the simplest form of life. Here the expansion instantaneously collapses to one singular point-the pure life energy or soul.
In the process of blindly following the rules, without understanding their principles, the followers have left the principles in the pages of canons and reduced the discipline of mind and soul into mere rituals. We have totally reversed the process and, instead of starting with fellow human beings and going out to all forms of life, we start and end with unseen, unknown, and not comprehended life forms. We make a lot of fuss about harming or not harming micro-organisms, but do not even think about harming or not harming our fellow human beings. We think and talk too much
AHIMSA: THE SCIENCE OF PEACE Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
102
www.jainelibrary.org
