Jainism

Author(s): Vallabh Smarak Nidhi
Publisher: Vallabh Smarak Nidhi

Page 13

in the name of religion. This necessarily set the Jain saints a-thinking and they asked the questions. “Is this shedding of blood really nacessary for the betterment of the soul ? " They received an answer from their inner conscience that the shedding of blood was not only not necessary but it was against all canons of settled and peaceful religious life and holy conduct. But when the mind is blinded by fanaticism reason, which alone can guide us as to the requirements of time and place, becomes obscured and superstition and custom take its place.
So the Jain saints decided to reawaken people as to their duty towards themselves and towards all other beings. They emphasized Ahimsa as the rule of good conduct. Briefly stated, it comes to mean this: Life is sacred in whatsoever form it may exist. Therefore, injure no life, and let this be the highest ethical principle. Be a gentleman: a gentleman is one who has no tendency to do violence. Every religion worth counting recognizes the sanctity of human life; Jainism wants the same feeling to be extended to the other forms of life as well namely, beasts, birds and smaller creatures.