Dr. Sulekh Chand Jain
We are living an age when humanity is severely suffering with strong-headed religious fundamentalism, cultural, intellectual and political intolerance, various forms of terrorism, economically dominant imperialism, rampant environmental degradation and deep civilizational crises. The constantly growing stock of nuclear armaments is posing serious threat to our very existence. In such an unnerving scenario, Ahimsa or Non-violence appears to be the only solace as also the most effective last resort for saving the earth and its inhabitants.
More than ever before, we need to seriously understand and analyse various aspects of Ahimsa and explain how it can be practiced in our day to day life. It should not remain merely a theoretical principle or religious dictum; rather it must become a ‘way of life’. The present book by Shri Sulekh C. Jain makes a commendable effort in this direction and deals with various dimensions of issues involved in comprehending and actually practicing Ahimsa.
Ahimsa is the central concept of Jain philosophical and religious tradition. Mahavira, the last Tirthankara (Propounder) of Jainism, identified it with “Dharma” (the duty) itself and declared “Ahimsa Parmo Dharma” which means “Ahimsa is the highest or ultimate duty”. The concept of Ahimsa in Jain tradition is deeply rooted in its metaphysics, which maintains equality of all souls and categorizes all living beings into one- sensed to five-sensed beings. It firmly believes that like human beings, the most evolved among five sensed beings (higher animals, beasts and birds), all other living beings including four sensed beings such as bees, three sensed beings such as ants, two sensed being such as worms, and even one-sensed beings such as trees (having sense of touch only), qualitatively have the same soul. The only difference being that of the level of development of consciousness.
Accordingly, every soul is potentially capable of attaining Moksha (the final liberation) or the highest level of consciousness and even can become a Tirthankara. This strong acceptance of the potential equality of all souls naturally leads to the recognition of the value and claim of every life form same as one’s own. “Respect of life wherever found” and principle of reciprocity i.e. “we should do to others as we would like to be done by”, inevitably becomes the most important and fundamental duty, as defined in Jainism.
This approach of Jainism is in direct contrast to the anthropocentric world view which is grounded on the belief that man is the center of the universe and has a natural dominion over whatever exists in it - animate or inanimate. The universe is created solely for consumption and enjoyment of human beings and they have inviolable right to exploit Nature and all other non-human entities for their own ends. Except man, no other cosmic being has any intrinsic value. Every other entity is of instrumental value only. Descartes, the father of modern western philosophy, strongly believed that animals have no soul and plants are lifeless entities.
Contrary to this, according to the non-anthropocentric world view of Jains, every entity, from the smallest plant to the highly developed five sensed beings, is endowed with life and consciousness, has intrinsic value and is connected with rest of the world with a subtle relationship of love and care. Welfare and happiness of one form of life necessarily influences, and is influenced by those of other forms of life.
This universe is one unitary whole and any harm to any part will ultimately result in the harm to the whole. In last few decades, the pro-pounders of Deep Ecology ethics, such as Laurance Johnson (Morally Deep World), Freya Methews (Ecological Self) and others have also advocated fervently for a similar holistic view of life. Jain metaphysics which views all living beings as repositories of potential divinity, leads to an ethics based on profound reverence for all life forms and prescribes ‘way of life’ which causes least harm to the equilibrium and harmony of the universe.
The Jain scriptures/texts provide a very comprehensive, thorough and in-depth analysis of various dimensions of Ahimsa and even the most-minute details of do’s and don’ts in this respect are worked out with a care and precision which is scarcely found anywhere else. Ahimsa, according to Jain religious texts, is not limited to merely not taking life or killing a life form. It is extended to the level where even thinking and speaking of taking life, permitting or encouraging others to take life are considered as violation of the vow of Ahimsa.
Moreover, merely abstaining from the killing of a living being is not enough for a Jain practitioner of Ahimsa. Along with this, he is expected to engage in activities which help in saving and improving the quality of life of every creature in the universe. The four kinds of dana - Ahar Dana, Aushadh Dana, Gyan Dana and Abhay Dana (providing food / nutrition, medicine and health services, education and knowledge and freedom from fear) are considered to be the basic duties of every Jain. The philosophical foundation of this concept of Dana lies in the positive aspect of Ahimsa. The strong emphasis on “Jiva Daya” in Jain scriptures reflects how compassion for every living being is central to Jainism and its principle of Ahimsa.
The present book by Sulekh C. Jain highlights these aspects of Jain religion and provides an extensive analysis of the practical issues involved in making Ahimsa a “way of life”. After giving a brief historical and theoretical exposition of the notion of Ahimsa, the author primarily focuses on the critical examination of various day to day practices of Jains, which are inconsistent with or are violative of the principle of the non-violence.
The issues such as, what kind of food true vegetarian may eat, why all Jains must be vegan, what animal-based products in clothing, cosmetics, medicine etc must be avoided, what are the basic principles of business and professional ethics a Jain must necessarily observe, how some of the social customs and practices of Jain community (such as Gender bias against female child, dowry system, use of money acquired through violent means in charity and other religious functions, extra agent display of wealth in marriages and other family festivities, wastage of food in feasts etc) are inconsistent with the true spirit of Ahimsa, are analysed in details. The author seems to have thoroughly explored and researched the background of each of the issues raised and hence has not only provided ample relevant factual information but also has put forward strong arguments in support of his views. He has made special efforts to dispel prevalent misconceptions regarding hazards on the path of practicing Ahimsa as a ‘way of life’ and has done justice to every problem discussed in this respect.
The most impressive aspect of the book is that the author moves beyond simple description and engages the reader in one to one direct communication. After each issue discussed, he asks the reader— “– is this behaviour consistent with Ahimsa?—what is your decision?” Thus he challenges the reader, compels him to reflect on the issue seriously and then respond responsibly. Personal narratives of incidents of his life and those of other relatives enhance the appeal and overall impact of the contents of the book. Written in simple but lucid and interactive style, this book will be of great help to anyone who is striving to strictly follow the principle of non- violence in its true spirit.
I would like to congratulate the author Mr. Sulekh C. Jain for undertaking this interesting project and accomplishing the work in excellent manner. Prakrit Bharati Academy, Jaipur also deserves special appreciation for publishing this book which will be useful both for researchers as well as general readers who are sincerely interested in understanding and practicing Ahimsa.
Dr. Kusum Jain
Jaipur, India
