Mahavira Life and Philosophy

Author(s): Sumeruchand Diwakar Shastri
Publisher: Jain Mitra Mandal

Page 91

Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every treo in which is fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for meat and to every beast of the earth and to every, fowl of the air, to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, 1 have given every green herb for meat and it was so."
Gandhiji referring to the glorious Christian period of restitution quotes thus, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them...... And the lion shall eat straw like the ox... They shall not hurt nor destory in my holy mountains; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."
Jain thinkers have strictly ordained that a disciple should at the outset learn the lesson of sanctity of life. He should treat all life as sacred.
Ruskin's observations are thought-provoking, "Unless you are deliberately kind to every creature creature, you will often be cruel to many."
Those who kill others forget that a time will come when they will have to read the fruits of their cruel practices. If we sow the seed of a banyan tree how can we get an orange tree ? Likewise, if we nurse violence, cruelty or hatred in our hearts we will not only spread the baceful aura of evil thought, but it will also give rise to more heinous evil