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THE PATH
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movements, often causing even physical injury to himself. He does not stop there. Under the influence of that subjective or mental himsā, he, more often than not, causes injury, mental, physical, or both, to other living beings. This is the apparent, gross, or objective himsā.
Keeping in view both these aspects, the Jaina texts define himsā as the severance, by a person, of his own or somebody else's life-forces (spiritual including mental, and physical), under the impact of his passional developments, or in pursuit of sensual pleasures, or due to ignorance, mistaken belief or superstition, or on account of negligence, rashness, carelessness or unmindfulness. These conditions have to be satisfied for an act or omission to be called himsā and the person responsible for it a himsaka (doer of himsa). The act must be violent in spirit, if not in appearance, and it must be intentional or motivated, or due to lack of carefulness, or for mere fun sake. Unless it is so, the injury done is accidental, and the person supposed to be instrumental for it, is not responsible morally and spiritually.
All the numerous rules, so meticulously woven into systematic ethical codes of right conduct, both for the laity and the ascetics, to serve for them as the practical path and the way of living a religious and righteous life, revolve around this central doctrine of ahimsā.
Various aspects of himsa and ahimsā have been discussed at length in the Jaina texts. As we have seen, the ascetic observes complete ahimsa, but a layman or laywoman is granted many exemptions. As a matter of fact, shirking the incidental or accidental, occupational or vocational, and the protective or defensive types of himsa would be considered a dereliction of duty on the part of a lay house-holder. It is only the himsā for himsa's sake, for mere pleasure or the fun of it, without any thought, or without any higher end in view, that the lay aspirants are asked to guard themselves against. In other cases,
