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JAIN JOURNAL
Shelley gave poetical expression to the Jaina creed of non-violence or non-injury in Alastor or the Spirit of Solitude :
"If no bright bird, insect, or gentle beast, I consciously have injured, but still loved And cherished these my kindred ; then forgive This boast, beloved brethren, and withdraw No portion of your wonted favour now !"
The shooting of tigers and the destroying of snakes is justified on
basis of “kill the killer". But these animals bear no ill-will towards man and would never attack just for the fun of it. They do so in selfdefence because they doubt man's motives. If they could somehow be assured that man had no sinister design against them, they would passby quietly. On seeing them, we instinctively recoil out of fear ; and our reactions are misunderstood by the animals as a menacing attitude on our part. If we could remain motionless and unperturbed on seeing a lion or a reptile, they, in their turn, will not bother us. Our Tirthankaras sat in deep meditation and were quite oblivious of the world around them. The forest beasts and birds gathered round them in meek ado
tion and never did them any harm. The atmoshphere of peace that prevailed round the forest-abodes of the Tirthankaras, has also been envisaged by Shelley in the above poem :
"He would linger long, In lonesome vales, making the wild his home, Until the doves and squirrels would partake From his innocuous hand his bloodless food, Lured by the gentle meaning of his looks ; And the wild antelope, that starts whene'er The dry leaf rustles in the brake suspend Her timid steps, to gaze upon a form More graceful than her own."
The Jaina creed of non-violence extends not only to animals but also to the vegetable kingdom. Long before Sir J. C. Bose, Wordsworth discovered that plants had life.
"And 'tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes."2
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Lines Written in Early Spring.
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