Environmental Doctrines of Jainism

Author(s): S M Jain
Publisher: S M Jain

Page 10

This process continued till recently all over the globe and respective governments gave lucrative rewards for this purpose. It is important to mention here that in natural forest based life style the populations remain optimum according to the availability of food naturally, as proved in a recent experiment on wolves in Germany. With the advent of agriculture food availability was augmented artificially and this triggered increase in population, requiring more land for agriculture and necessitating more destruction and clearance of forests for cultivation; then more population and more requirement of land and more destruction of forest. The cycle continues even now by extensive encroachments, legally and illegally, on remnant forest areas in spite of stringent laws. This will not stop as long as population explosion continues. As availability of land for agriculture became scarce. use of chemical fertilizers and poisonous pesticides increased and their indiscriminate use is single most maximum contributor of extensive pollution of air, water and soil. The dangerous pesticides, through soil and food, are entering in human body with biological magnification resulting in increasing incidences of fatal diseases of heart, kidneys, lever and cancers of various types
Subsequently, industrialization added fuel to the fire accelerating environmental degradation and pollution. The objective of any industry is to augment the sales of its products through thrust of lucrative and misleading advertisements triggering indiscriminate consumerism, putting more and more pressure on natural resources like air, water, soil, minerals etc. Manufacture of even a single needle requires water, minerals, and energy. With growing industrialization producing myriad products and spiraling consumerism, the stress on natural resources has increased many times more than their carrying capacities, resilience and rejuvenation time-cycles. Initially it was only anthropocentric attitude responsible for degradation of environment, next agriculture and increasing population, and now spiraling consumerism, all combined are playing havoc on environment and dire consequences are manifesting as green house effect, climate change, floods, storms,
famines etc. Scientists have estimated that at present levels of consumption and population we need natural resources of 4 to 5 such planets as earth. Obviously the pressure on environment is at least four times more than its capacity. The problem is that all the factors responsible for environmental degradation are accentuating and not declining.
Only mankind is responsible for environmental degradation. Other life-forms live symbiotically and in harmony with nature. It is only when human beings in their greed and lust transgress their natural habitat and their sources of livelihood that there are aberrations in their behaviour including harmful mutations.
During Sukhum-Sukhma and Sukhma eras lions, tigers, wolves, jackals were nature's scavengers and consumed naturally dead bodies only, which were available in plenty when there were good forests and large number of wild animals all over the globe. It was only after destruction of forests, their habitat and also of wild animals that they became killers. Even micro-organisms were symbiotic. There are more numbers of micro-fauna and flora inside human body than the number of cells, causing no harm. It is only with their help that human body is able to digest food and perform other functions. It is only wrong life style of human beings that force them to mutate in harmful forms. Appendicitis is caused by bacteria otherwise living beneficially in intestines. The plague bacillus Yersimia pestis living harmlessly in intestines mutated to dangerous harmful fatal form because of wrong life style. The same is true for harmful mutations of avian and swine flu and malaria bacillus mutating to more and more resistant and dangerous forms. There are many more examples. It is like turning of a good friend as enemy because of wrong behaviour. Mankind is still in slumber and has not awakened in spite of conclusive scientific evidence of looming suicidal disaster. A scientist, E. Cook. in 1975 calculated energy requirement in food, shelter, clothing, transport all inclusive) per capita in K-Calories-day' during various periods since Paleolithic era till 1970 base year