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even further. He asked his followers to avoid eating root vegetables because in order to eat a root one has to dig up the whole plant; thus grains, beans, peas, pulses and fruit are suitable foods, whereas onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables are not. The principle of limiting one's consumption is the bed rock of Jain ecology.
Such restraints did not mean that food was a dull affair in our home. In fact each time mother prepared a meal it was a minor feast. The aroma of spices, the colour of the foods, the manner of presentation, the ritual of eating and the care given to each member of the family made every day an occasion of celebration. Mother believed that if you have bad food in your belly, you cannot have good thoughts in your head. I remember the delights and pleasures of home cooking: the fewer the ingredients, the greater the challenge to the imagination and the art of cooking.
Mother followed the example of Mahavir and always walked barefoot. When we touch the sacred earth and feel the cool of the soil we know that we have come from the earth and will return to the earth. Walking barefoot in Nature in solitude brings you in contact with your soul as well as in contact with the soil. There is no better way to health and happiness than a daily practice of walking barefoot on the earth. The minerals and herbs of the earth enter the body through the soles of our feet and heal our souls. Moreover fear and frustration, anger and anguish, tears and tribulation quickly disappear. blowing away with the wind when we walk among the trees and listen to the humming of bees.
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Mahavir taught his disciples that the earth has soul, water has soul, fire has soul, air has soul and of course all plants and animals have souls. As humans love life and do not wish to be harmed, nonhuman life, including insects and mosquitoes, worms and spiders, butterflies and bees also long to live. Therefore compassionate human beings should be making a continuous effort to reduce the
damage they inflict on other forms of life.
The aim of Mahavir was to take as little as possible from the natural world and to live in harmony with nature. The compassion of Mahavir was so apparent that when he preached his sermons, which would always take place in a grove of trees or in a forest, not only humans would come to hear him speak, but also lions and tigers, eagles and doves, peacocks and parrots, elephants and bullocks, would all sit at his feet.
Jain ecology insists that we must learn to respect the water body, the fire body, the earth body and the air body. These natural bodies are not distinct from human bodies; human bodies contain earth, air, fire and water. These elements sacrifice themselves to nourish and sustain the human body. Therefore it is only right that human beings should take responsibility to sustain the natural order and preserve the integrity of the elements. This is the principle of ahimsa, non violence. It is the most fundamental principle of Jain ecology. But ahimsa, or nonviolence, was not just a dogma for my mother: it was a way of life.
As a traditional Jain family we did not live as isolated individuals, we were not taught to stand on our
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own feet and fend for ourselves; ours was a relationship of mutuality, mutual sharing, mutual caring, no privacy, no private possessions, no private wealth, everything belonged to the family. My three brothers worked together in the family business and shared the family home. Nobody knew or evaluated who earned what and how much. It was all one and shared. A family security system operated. The extended family, which included my mother, her sons, their wives and children, as well as my father's brother and his family, lived in a house built round a courtyard. With the inner courtyard was connected an outer courtyard where cows were milked, herbs were grown, rainwater was collected, guests were accommodated and corn was dried, threshed and winnowed. The whole set up was simple and sustainable. Everything was in good order and seemed amply sufficient for our needs. The family business, which was based on trade in grain and jute, brought enough income in cash to keep the needs of the family amply supplied. We were not rich, we were not poor and we never thought of these categories. A sense of satisfaction and "enoughness' prevailed.
Satish Kumar is editor of Resurgence magazine and a director of Jain Spirit
Illustration: Vassiliki Tzomaka
July-September 1999 Jain Spirit
61
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