The Truth

Author(s): O P Jain
Publisher: Veer Nirvan Granth Prakashan Samiti

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THE TRUTH
low as possible. It should be considered as a necessary evil. One should aspire for a stage of spiritual development when no food is necessary. Vegetables are seemingly lifeless and do not produce the same revulsion of feelings in us as the sight of dead carcasses and the slaughtering of living animals does. Vegetables do not wriggle about when cut, they have no visible sense organs that in animals look so terribly grim in death; they do not appeal for mercy with their eyes or with shrieks. He, who eats vegetables, therefore, has not to shut his eyes to the suffering and shrieking and the appealing looks of the victim of his appetite, as he who proceeds to kill or devour an animal that does all that. It is, therefore, clear that vegetarianism implies much less of a sinful taint resulting to the devourer than flesh. And as stated before, the eater of the vegetarian diet hopes also one day to escape from even the little himsa that is certainly involved in the act of eating vegetables.
Some people hold the view that there is no harm in eating flesh which has not been killed by the eater himself or specially for him. Obviously such a view has no depth of logic, for who is going to have a trade in meat unless there are cus tomers to buy it. Such people are, therefore, fully responsible for the killing involved and it has their full support. It is the normal state of the human emotions that the sight of a dead body excites the feelings of pity and sobriety in the beholder and the animal intincts and cravings are subdued and curbed for the time being. Nay, even nobler thoughts-regard for the hereafter and the means of escape from the cycle of transmigration-fill the minds of the enlightened thinking beings. But what kind of emotions can they be, which find expression, when the sight of death or an animal's corpse, not only does not excite the natural and nobler type of emotions, but sharpens the appetite and the eagerness to devour the carcass? It is obvious that when such a state of the mind comes to supervene habitually, the tender human instincts have been, and must be deemed to have been, dead long long ago. This shows how harmful changes occur in the disposition of man before he can tolerate the sight of flesh and becomes moved by the devouring zest of a flesh eater.
Moral : It is a code of practice for everyday living such that life alround is happy. This calls for virtues like mutual help, honesty, trust, mercy and above all an attitude of ahimsa. These qualities impose restrictions on one's selfishness and sensual pleasures. But naturally, it is not possible to cultivate these virtues in a partial way,