International Jain Conference 1985 3rd Conference

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

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echoes of the awareness of each one of us, wherein the recognition of the truth of this imperative is both deeply established and deeply hidden. Too many modern human beings are out of touch with the awareness of the impropriety of violence, and hence have become insensitive to the ever increasing intrusion of violence into domains of our existence where heretofore it had a much lesser role. I have in mind areas such as entertainment and amusement, which often takes a seemingly innocent but actually very pernicious violence as its focus. As human beings amuse themselves with violent presentations, attitudes are developed which can be translated from the imaginary world of amusement to the actual world of other sentient beings, so that one becomes almost unconsciously, almost inadvertently malevolent, vicious toward those one deems opponents, willing to harm them even to the point of extinction. And as these attitudes harden into lifestyles, the world becomes a dangerous place, threatening even the survival of civilization. The increasingly sophisticated weaponry of modern militarist states, in the hands of individuals who are not deeply aware of and committed to the doctrine of Ahimsa is one of the greatest sources of challenge to mankind. Purely political or econo mic approaches to the preservation of peace on the planet are bound to fail unless undergirded by spiritual values, which are focussed in the principle of non-injury. Of course, non-injury is not merely abstaining from physical or military destruction; its roots are in the attitudes, the intentions of individuals. Malice, disregard, yes, even indifference to the plight of the other is a source of injury, and thus, the integration of Ahimsa into our lives entails the concernful caring of the welldeveloped spiritual being toward all sentiency. And such an attitude must become an active accompaniment of every state of consciousness-sleeping, wakeful and meditative-contemplative,
Clearly, non-injury also has implications to diet and animal husbandry. It is well known that Jainas are vegetarians. They recognize that the eating of meat implies the deliberate slaughter of the animal consumed. They further see that the ingestion and integration of the energies and attitudes of the frightened and suffering, dying animals harms those who partake of them. Jainas would rather cultivate a wholesome, scientifically sound vegetarian diet, which would benefit everyone.
On reflection it becomes evident that a carnivorous society inflicts injury on animals not only when they are killed, but also, frequently, in the very way they are raised. Many chickens, turkeys are hatched, herded in crowded conditions, prevented from moving, fed on artificial, hormone-soaked feed, and permitted to develop prematurely, only to be slaughtered. Such a procedure may be "efficient" and "profitable" from an economic perspective, but it clearly violates any respect that the life of animals should command. Insensitivity to animal rights is one dimension of a fading conact with the fundamental principle of non-injury. A further beneficial side-effect of the vegetarian approach to life is the fact that by not cycling edible grain through unnaturally kept animals, there will simply be more
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