Jain Spirit 1999 10 No 02

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 48

Motherhood Feelings - Painting by: Ravi Paranjape
situation, or if by speaking up you have a chance of stopping something painful or miserable or horrible? It doesn't. All through history people have laughed at those trying to effect change and yet they have carried on.
So I would like to request the Jains not to be shy; they have a wonderful religion with such marvellous principles that everyone in the world would do well to follow. I hope young Jains will not assimilate into modern society in order to just fit in, by acquiring its really horrid habits. On the contrary, it has an awful lot to learn from the Jains and not the other way around. For example, in our office we have Michael Tobias's video, Ahimsa,
and we show it to our interns, to newcomers. Most of them have never heard of Jainism and they are mesmerised. The tradition is so clearly selfless and just beautiful.
I also believe women are very powerful because they raise children and can teach them kindness. It is said that if you teach a child to be kind to a mouse, you are doing as much for the child as for the mouse. Mothers are the primary food providers and control what happens in the kitchen and what people eat. They are the leaders of the table.
...there is no non-violent way to kill an animal...
Aparigraha or non-possessiveness is another profound principle. When you die and
things surround you, when you
look back at things, what have you got? The sports car or fancy jewellery? There is nothing to look back and be proud of. These are not things of worth in the real sense. What is worth anything in my book is if you can just chip away at the evil, at the pain and the suffering.
Stand up for your beliefs
There is a quote from Hippocrates that says "Even though the exterior, the form is different for all the creatures, the soul inside is still the same" and it is true. It does not really matter what package an individual comes in, what is important are their needs and how they can be helped.
Young people lose so many years when they rebel and just discard a value or an idea because it was their parents'. Later you reassess, you look at things sensibly and might come back to it. I would just ask young Jains to be really proud. You have something so exciting and important in Jain culture, wear a T-shirt, wear a button or badge that says it. Do not dissect animals. That is not Ahimsa. Stick up for it, do not change. No one can legally make a child dissect. Any child can stick up for it. A child has the right to insist on computer software or some other lesson that is actually more educational than cutting up a frog or cat. There are so many ways to live one's beliefs and to be proud and strong in them and to know that you are doing the right thing. Don't just follow blindly.
People usually eat three times a
day, so it means that they can either subsidise the slaughter house, or the dairy, or they can reject that type of cruelty. Women in their groups can do so much, not only through charitable acts, but through education in their libraries, in their ▸
Jain Spirit 47
October
December 1999 •