Jain Journal 1972 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 10

146
JAIN JOURNAL
Universal love means something quite different from the strong sense of attachment to a few private individuals only, such as a lover, friend, members of the family, etc. Universal love, as its name implies, is a real sense of compassion and mercy directed towards the whole of living nature, and includes all life, whether human or non-human.
To attain this end, true religion fobids the killing or injuring of any living beings, human or otherwise, excepting in self-defence. All living beings are possessed of the divine life-substance and if we fail to recognise this, we fail to recognize our own divine soul.
What mercy or love is there in the killing of dumb, defenceless, living creatures for the gratification of appetite ? The body can be kept in perfect health without all this, if one is sufficiently enlightened in the matter.
It is forbidden, therefore, to kill any mobile, living being for the purpose of gratifying an appetite for flesh foods. It must not be assumed that because one does not actually kill the animals which are eaten, this law is not broken. It is the demand that causes all the wholesale slaughtering of animals, birds, etc.
Universal love, then, consists mainly in overcoming one's own selfish desires ; they are the cause of all killing and injuring. All life is sacred, and it is this principle which needs to be installed in the heart. This very same principle will then automatically be brought to bear on all human problems.
The real causes of war will be found in the four passions of pride, anger, deceit and greed. In the case of war, they have a national aspect instead of an individual one.
There are two kinds of peace : external, communal peace and the internal peace of each individual soul. The first is necessarily dependent on the second. Any community (including the community of nations) which has not a majority of peace-loving individuals, will certainly not remain peaceful for any great length of time.
There need be no doubt as to what constitutes peace. You have only to instil the principle of control of the four great passions, to provide a solution to the problem. The spirit of self-restraint is the basis of all broad-mindedness and generous forbearance ; it is the spirit which makes staunch friendships and converts enemies into friends ; the spirit, indeed, which produces happiness itself.