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THE SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS OF JAINISM
Non-violence
Violence
(b)
Fig. 6.1
Effect of (a) positive non-violence and (b) violence on the soul.
of spiritual advancement. Thus this Axiom encourages not only the aspirations of a single soul but, simultaneously, of all souls. However, the first responsibility is to oneself (i.e. love thyself), so that one is then capable of showing compassion, appreciation etc. to others. The idea is emphasized in the quotation "You are your own best friend" (Appendix 3B, q.6.2).
6.2 IMPLICATIONS
The idea of this Axiom lies in the belief that all living beings are sensitive to pain and no-one desires death (Appendix 3B, q.6.3.). These remarks even apply to micro-organisms. However, consuming any creature represented on the life-axis (see Ch. 3) necessarily involves killing, so ideally it should be avoided.
For survival one has to consume food and thus we absorb life-units but the aim is to use the minimum possible number of life units. The higher the spiritual growth, the lesser will be the total life units. In general, the consumption of life units of 10-3 consisting of vegetable life, is regarded as tolerable. However, note that highly concentrated micro-organisms should be avoided since then the life unit will be above 10-3: this not only excludes honey and wine but also dead flesh
