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MEDIEVAL JAINISM : CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
Man is endowed with che faculty of discrimination between right and wrong, just and unjust, and fair and unfair. His superiority as man depends on his ability to exercise this faculty with the utmost sincerity. As an enlightened member of society he cannot afford to arrogate to himself privileges and prerogatives which are not available to others. An individual cannot enjoy any rights without the responsibilities accruing from them, in fact, every respectable citizen has more duties than rights. He is expected to lead a life of self-control. Such a self-control, according to Jainism, amounts to various kinds of restrictions in the matter of foods, in acquiring possessions, and in the enjoyment of pleasures. Moderation is the first step on the path of self-control. By observation, the Jaina teachers have concluded that animal food not only involves destruction of life but it is also stimulative to the animal passions, and every one, therefore, who wants to lead a sober, sensible and religious life should live on a vegetarian diet.
Austerities of various kinds are prescribed in Jainism, and a pious Jaina is expected to observe different austerities such as fasting, eating less than one's fill, putting restrictions on the use of certain items of food, and renouncing delicacies : in fact, he is to eat to live but not live to eat. Of course these austerities are intended only for those who are sufficiently advanced on the path of religious life.
This doctrine of non-injury has led the Jaina Teachers to study in detail the whole range of the animal world and to classify the various living beings under different grades according to their development and sensefaculties. This was practical necessity. If injury to living being is to be avoided gradually, it was necessary to study what the various living beings are and how they
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