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THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE JAINAS
85. "Those in great suffering will on being killed soon obtain relief from agony." Do not even kill the distressed one by having grasped the sword of such misconception.
Commentary.
The wrong notion that by killing a dog, or a horse, permanently disabled, or suffering from incurable wounds, you would relieve him of his pain, and would thus do good to him is very commonly prevalent. In Egypt, some people considered it a pious religious duty to stab their old parents to death, in the belief that by doing so, they relieved them of the miseries and infirmities of old age. This false belief arises from an ignorance of the law of Karma. The pain and suffering which a living being, has to endure and go through is inevitable, and a necessary consequence. There is no possible escape from it. It must be undergone now, or hereafter, in this life or the next. The bad Karmas which bring it about must be worked out. You cannot reduce the effect of Karmas. The chief influencing cause in the killing is that you cannot bear to see the misery of the suffering living being and wish to put an end to the disagreeable sight or the piteous moans by the cheap process of killing him outright. Such an act is Himsa. It is wrongly called and believed to be an act of mercy or commiseration. One may well help the distressed by nursing or helping otherwise. Veterinary hospitals should take as much care of the sub-human class, as other hospitals do for humanity. All hospitals should be free. There should be no fee charged for medicine, attendance, or surgical operations. This is the primary duty of individual citizens, municipal corporations, and of the State. Its neglect is a culpable omission.
zazu genanâiafa gfari zar: gfea QA | gfa aknusarım: yıêai anava arèa: 11 58 ||
86. It is difficult to obtain happiness. The happy shall, if killed, continue to be happy. Do not please adopt the weapon of this (false) reasoning for killing those who are happy.
Commentary.
Happiness and misery depend upon one's own acts and thoughts. We cannot make the happy state, one is in, continue by killing him. Cessation of one form of existence does not mean the wiping out of
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