Jaina Path of Ahimsa

Author(s): Vilas Sangve
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir Research Centre

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The Jaina Path Of Ahimsā
distinguished guest with the meat of certain animals. At the wedding ceremonies animals were slain, evidently for the feeding of the invited guests. In fact, the sacrifice of animals was not only optional as in the case of the arrival of a guest and marriage but even compulsory on certain occasions and ceremonies.' At Srāddhas, i.e., periodical oblations to the manes, the sacrifice of animals was reconimended, as substances like rice, barley, sesamum, fruits, etc., keep the manes satisfied for a month, while flesh satisfied them for a year. Again, meat was almost allowed at Annaprāsana, i.e., the first feeding with solid food, ceremony of a child and from them till death and cremation, sacrificing of animals was necessary on most of the ceremonial occasions of life.
Against this wide-spread and established practice of meat-eating and the performance of rites consisting of animal sacrifices Lord Mahavira and his learned disciples launched a vigorous attack by propagating the principle of Ahimsā, i.e., non-injury to living beings. In fact in all their preachings, Lord Mahavira and later his leading Acharyas invariably laid great stress on the observance of Ahimsā because the principle of Ahimsā is the logical outcome of the basic Jaina metaphysical theory that all souls are potentially equal. It was, therefore, asserted that as no one likes pain, one should not do unto others what one does not want others to do unto one. Since all living beings possessed soul, the principle of Ahiṁsā i.e., non-injury, was obviously extended to cover all living beings.
All these preachings of Jaina scriptures and Acharyas regarding the strict observance of the principle of Ahińsā to the maximum extent possible by every individual in society produced far-reaching effects in social field. The practice of performing sacrificial rites and especially the slaughter of animals at the time of sacrifices considerably fell into disuse. Similarly, killing of animals for hunting, sports and decoration purposes was greatly reduced. Further, the slaughter of animals and birds with a view to use their flesh as a form of diet slowly became unpopular.
In this way injury to living beings was greatly reduced and the practice of vegetarian diet was adopted by large sections of population in different regions of the country. In this connection Dr. N. K. Dutta (in his book "Origin and Growth of Caste in India”) observed that “Animal sacrifice had been of so long standing among the Aryans and such was the respect for the authority of the Vedas which made it obligatory to sacrifice with flesh offerings, that the abolition of