International Jain Conference 1985 3rd Conference

Author(s): Satish Jain, Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Ahimsa International

Page 117

All kinds of movement affect these Jivas in some way. In fact, nature itself is doing a lot of violence in the movement of inorganic elements like wind, water and fire. In the biological realm, life feeds on life, the stronger, on the weak. Man also commits a lot of violence for food as well as fun. The Jaina doctrine of non-violence takes into consideration only those acts of injury which are due to human volition. Semitic Attitude towards Non-Violence :
The semitic religions believe that the world was created by God and man is the crown of creation. The plants and animals have no souls and were created by God for food and the service of mankind. Moses gave a list of clean animals" to be used as food for man. Jesus did not reject this doctrine and never preached vegetarianism. The Koran also explicitly declares that Allah created oceans and big rivers so that man could get fresh meat. As such, in semitic religions, the concept of non-violence had a limited application, viz., to the relations among human beings and there also to those belonging to one's own sector society. Moses taught: "Love your neighbour as your self", but here the term 'neighbour" included only those human beings who lived according to his other commands. For those who violated his commands, there was no love or forgiveness. For them, he laid down the Retributive Theory of Punishment. Universal brotherhood in Islam practically meant the brotherhood of Muslims only. The teaching of Jesus was however more humanistic and compassionate than that of Moses and Mohammed as he went further when he taught : “It hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you: 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hurt you. ... Resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also . ." The Jaina sages went farther still and commanded "Love all life", and not merely coreligionists, not merely human life, but also animal and vegetable life. Hindu Attitude towards Non-Violence :
In India, although Hinduism preached non-violence, it has not been such a central concept as it has been in Jainism and Buddhism. Animals were killed for food as well as sacrifices. Manu and others commend animal-killing at sacrifices. Jainism and early Buddhism severely denounced animal-killing for food as well as sacrifices. The result of these protests was that Hinduism also began to glorify the the doctrine of non-violence. But because of its different background, Hinduism did not preach the doctrine with missionary zeal. The Hindu thinkers went on preaching non-violence but did nothing to stop animal-killing for food and also sacrifices. Very few Hindu thinkers condemned it in unequivocal terms. The Doctrine of Universal Love and Good Will :
By the time of Mahavira and Buddha in India, non-violence came to be preached as the supreme virtue, but practical application of the doctrine brought
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