An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide: People First, Profit Later

Many Jains know about a great and wealthy Jain shravak named Bhama Shah. He lived during the time of Maharana Pratap and Emperor Akbar (about 450 years ago). During this period, there was a large famine in the state of Rajasthan. There was absolute scarcity of food and water everywhere. People were dying due to starvation. Bhama Shah, being a trader, had extensive warehouses full of wheat and other food items. He practically controlled the prices and availability of food items. But for him, this was not the time to take advantage of people and make lots of money. He felt compassion for their suffering. Immediately he opened his warehouses for feeding the people. He did all this because of compassion and care. Again, this was ahimsa in practice.