JAINA Convention 1993 07 Pittusburgh

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

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What constitutes the successful prosecution of an ideal has been much discussed in Jainism. And it is also at the core of today's environmentalism. How do we help stop the destruction of the rain forests? Of the air, the soil, the oceans, the sources of fresh water, and all the other animals on earth that are so beleaguered by this one species called man? How? How do we do it? Simply by meditating on one's soul? Certainly one's soul, as previously stated, is the only beginning, the only compass read- ing a man or a woman will ever have in his or her life. But ecology, like Jainism goes even further - goes out to all life forms with a universal adroitness. We must fight with non-violence, said Gandhi. There are endless battles to be waged in today's ecological war zones. But Jainism, I believe, is the only plausible tactic to use. To quote Professor Padmanabh Jaini, "The Jains believe that each and every individual, however small, is capable of attaining salvation and must be allowed to do so in its own manner and must not be interfered with by our careless behavior. And that is for him the true gist of ahimsa: not to hurt oneself, and not to hurt any other beings." Is there any more fervent eco- logical statement of action and belief than that?
One cannot over-emphasize the exquisite universality of such Jainism. Mahavira bravely welcomes this earth, with its teeming obstacles and temptations. He understood that there is no "other," no heavenly promise of refuge, no escaping the blessed responsibility to all life with which we have been endowed, and with whom we are one.
Most crucially, Mahavira adopted what the Greeks would later term a hylozoistic approach to the natural world, a view that all matter contains soul; soul which is in a state of perma- nent, living, breathing, feeling flux Thus, the clay-bound earth, the precious air and water, and the remedial fire - all are living organisms. In one conversa
tion between Mahavira and his disciple Gautama, the Jina is alleged to have stated that "the ultimate end of soul is samatva." In other words, that the kernel of what makes a human being human, is the same kernel that makes every other organism itself. The kinship resulting from this psychological reci- procity, these parallels of beings, is fun- damental to the life force, and to all of ecology
The profound introversion of Jainism has only been effective as its powers of observation. And this is especially important: it distinguishes the Jains from mere dreamers. Jains are all consummate biologists at heart. In the balance of interior dialogue and outer awareness lies an awesome embrace of life's cornucopia, understood by the Jains for the first time in history. While the Middle Kingdom Egyptians were building pyramids of exclusive stone to house a few immortalized Pharaohs, the Jains were fashioning unselfish ideals by which to house and protect every soul on Earth. The pyramids may be more visible. But they are eroding with time, while Jainism continues to grow.
Ancient Jain biologists identified 875,000 different species. Those stu- dents among you will appreciate that Mahavira even went so far as to analyze soul clusters, as he called them; such as coral, moss, algae, and lichen; and he posted the existence of the living equiv- alent of atoms, namely, nigodas. Such scientific acumen was unmatched well into the twentieth century. For comparison, Aristotle, himself a biologist, knew of less than five hundred species. And nowhere in Greek science or philosophy is the oneness of nature viewed as a psychic equality between all species.
For the Jains, ecology is thus as much about action - identifying and solving problems - as it is about intro- spection. Ecology is its own form of psychoanalysis. The biosphere, all of the billions of organisms within its fold, are depending on our psychic avowal;
our courtesy and etiquette; our moderation and our capacity for tears. We may well die without having learned many answers, but the same questions of a life force with which Jainism is preeminently concerned, will always prevail: Questions concerning universal decency, and the possibilities of love in a sea of tumultuous evolution.
Ecological Jainism is thus about stewardship, requiring human diligence, human conscience, and human love. Ecology, then, is love. Jain love. Love was always at the heart of the message promulgated by the ancient Jain sages. A love of life that would inspire the lay votaries to achieve great dreams, to fulfill life's highest possibilities. The severity of Jain asceticism is strictly oriented towards that love - not towards renouncing it. This is an important point, to be sure: Jain asceticism is about the human capacity for love, and by inference, about nature's own ability to have feeling, to share gentle thoughts, to act accordingly. The soul of nature transmigrates into the soul of the monk. And this scintillating relationship is inbred within the community Nature does not play havoc with the Jains. Rather, it fosters their thinking, which in turn - reciprocally - gives back to nature her first, loving impulses. Non-injury to life is self-replicating in the Jains. An thus, this religion has soul to engineer a perpetual biological renascence, from the soul, to the psyche, to the external world, and back again. This is the cycle of rebirth, the passion of all art, and the one hope of the future that I can image. A religion of life. A spiritual ecology. Ahimsa that has become psychological, emotive, all-embracing. Whatever the past, you can start right now.
The end result is a world that could be happy in spirit, in consciousness, and in body. A world that would be enlightened.
We have it in our power to drag down all other species in an orgy of per
"Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."
-Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) 7TH BIENNIAL JAINA CONVENTION - JULY 1993 —