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live a life of attachment-aversion, passion, delusion, etc.,, because he himself considers these pursuits as bad and considers giving them up as beneficial. As a rule what one considers bad he also desires that the creatures saved by him should also not pursue those pursuits and benefit himself. Any sinful activity is supported only when the supporter considers it as good and beneficial in some way. Therefore, it is erroneous to believe that the auspicious activities result in supporting sinful activities.
6. Objection - All living beings are equal. Therefore, violence towards any creature would amount to the same sin and not different. Therefore how far is it justified to kill innumerable or infinite number of innocent creatures to save one living being?
Answer - The belief that killing all living beings is equally sinful, is erroneous. The reason being that in one speck of earth and in one drop of water there are innumerable living beings and in certain vegetables and nigoda there are infinite living beings in as much of it as can be held on the tip of a needle. Like this innumerable air-bodied living beings are being killed in our breathing only; in drinking or using a gulp or a glassful of water, and in eating a little quantity of vegetables innumerable or infinite water-bodied living beings are being killed. If we consider the killing of each of these living beings as equivalent to killing a human being, we are incurring the sin of killing innumerable or infinite number of human beings every moment. This would amount to killing innumerable times more human beings every moment than there are in the world. According to this belief if someone kills all the human beings of the world his sin would be lesser than that incurred in killing innumerable water-bodied living beings in drinking just a gulp of water. The sin incurred in thousands upon thousands of great wars like Mahābhārata will be lesser than that incurred in killing the airbodied living beings while breathing just once. According to this belief some maniac would not hesitate in killing thousands of human beings because the sin incurred in doing so would be lesser than that incurred in drinking a gulp of water. Such a belief would encourage terrible carnages and would promote anarchy.
Positive Non-Violence
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