An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide: Current Tradition Without Significant And Visible Activism

Jains should be passionate about Ahimsa. They should be activists and instruments of change. Bhagawan Mahavir was. But we don’t find many Jain activists for any major societal causes which are many. All the activists that I know of mostly happen to be non-Jains.

At an international seminar in 1998, at Harvard University on “Jainism and Ecology,” several Western scholars pointed out that Jains talk of ecology and protection of environment but there is no Jain activist such as Sunder Lal Bahuguna or Arundhati Ray in India. There is also no example (except for Jain Sadhus) of active and visible practitioners of environmental protection within the majority of Jain community.

Nearly all Jains preach and practice vegetarianism, but the credit for spreading not only vegetarianism, but also veganism and animal rights in last 50 years, does not go to Jains but goes generally to non-Jains, mostly from the western world. There is hardly any Jain-inspired or established (that I know of) organizations like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicines), or AVS (Anti-Vivisection Societies). A few years ago, a few of us participated in a “March for Animal Rights in Washington D.C.” Out of the 30,000 plus persons taking part in the march, there were hardly any Jains (only about five to seven, at the most). In the West, non-Jains such as Hare Krishnas and followers of Swami Narayan (not Jains) have been in the forefront in making vegetarianism acceptable.

The unconditional respect for all forms of life implies that Jains should be in the forefront in the practice of ahimsa in all its shapes and forms. The scope and landscape of ahimsa is vast. Jains should be the preeminent role models for others. Unfortunately, during the last hundred years, movements including in support of human and civil rights, animal rights, eradication of child labor and sweat shops, support of women’s rights and cessation of abuse, ethical and environmentally friendly investing, promotion of laws against animal torture and hunting, restriction of the use of animals in sports and entertainment, regulations to ensure worker safety and occupational and health safety, civil disabilities acts, the eradication of capital punishment, ethical bioethics, medical ethics, business ethics and legal ethics and work towards all of these are based on and related to the practice of ahimsa, but these projects have generally been started by non-Jains. Generally, Jains have been the beneficiaries but not the torchbearers for such movements and protests.