Ahimsa Parmo Dharma (Non-violence is the Supreme Religion)

Jainism is an ethical system based on Non-Violence which is supreme religion and is one of the core practices of Jainism. Non-Violence in Jainism means compassion and forgiveness in thoughts, words and deeds towards all living beings (humans and non-humans both). Jains believe that the only way to save one's own soul is to protect every other soul, and so the most central Jain teaching, and the heart of Jain ethics, is Ahimsa (non-violence). Ahimsa means to be without harm; to be utterly harmless, not only to oneself and others, but to all forms of life, from the largest mammals to the smallest bacteria.

In practical terms, the biggest part that ahimsa plays in the lives of Jains today is in the regulation of their diet. Jains are vegetarians by birth as they strictly follow the preachings given by the 24th Tirthanker Lord Mahavir “ Live and Let Live” Jains believe that animals and plants, as well as human beings, contain living souls. Each of these souls is considered of equal value and should be treated with respect and compassion. All beings, humans and non- humans have equal right to live on the planet peacefully without any exploitation in any form by humans. However practically, it is impossible to survive without killing or injuring some of the smallest living beings. Some lives are ended even when we breathe, drink water, or eat food. Therefore, Jainism says that minimum killing of the lowest form of life should be our ideal for survival.
COMPASSION, KINDNESS AND NON-VIOLENCE TOWARDS ALL LIVING CREATURES FROM JAINS’ PERSPECTIVE 
If Jainism has been described as an ethical system par excellence, Ahimsa is the keynote of that system. It is also a feature which is often misunderstood, or not fully understood and duly appreciated. Nevertheless, this principle of Ahimsa, non-violence or non-injury to life, is one of extreme importance and universal application. It is repeatedly said in Jain literature; Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being. According to Jainism, all living beings, irrespective of their size, shape, or different spiritual developments are equal. No living being has a right to harm, injure, or kill any other living being, including animals, insects, and plants. Every living being has a right to exist and it is necessary to live with every other living being in perfect harmony and peace. In the universe, there are different forms of life, such as, human beings, animals, insects, plants, bacteria, and even smaller lives, which cannot be seen even through the most powerful microscopes. Jainism has classified all the living beings according to their senses and these five senses are touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing described as follows:

• Living beings with five senses - Humans, Animals, Birds, Heavenly and Hellish beings.
• Living beings with four senses - Flies, Bees, etc.
• Living beings with three senses- Ants, Lice, etc.
• Living beings with two senses - Worms, Leaches, etc.
• Living beings with one sense - Plants, Water, Air, Earth, Fire etc.

LACTO- VEGETARIANISM PRACTICE BY JAINS

It's extremely painful if a life of a higher forms i.e. more than one sense is killed that’s why Jains are strict vegetarians and they follow the following practice in its day to day life :

• For Jains, lacto-vegetarianism is a must, food which contains even small particles of the bodies of dead animals or eggs is absolutely unacceptable.
• Honey is forbidden, as its collection would amount to violence against the bees. 
• Food items that have started to decay are prohibited. Strict Jains do not eat after sun set as insects are attached to lamps or fire at night. Jains do not consume fermented foods (beer, wine and other alcohols) to avoid killing of a large number of micro-organisms associated with the fermentation process.
• Strict Jains do not consume food which has been stored overnight, as it possesses a higher concentration of micro-organisms (for example, bacteria, yeast etc.) as compared to food prepared and consumed the same day. Hence, they do not consume yogurt or dhokla and idli batter unless they’ve been freshly set on the same day.
• Jains make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as possible. But they only accept such violence inasmuch as it is indispensable for human survival, and there are special instructions for preventing unnecessary violence against plants.
• Jains don’t eat root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers, because tiny life forms are injured when the plant is pulled up and because the bulb is seen as a living being, as it is able to sprout. Also, consumption of most root vegetables involves uprooting & killing the entire plant. Whereas consumption of most terrestrial vegetables doesn’t kill the plant (it lives on after plucking the vegetables or it was seasonally supposed to wither away anyway).
• Strict Jains drink water from wells only and also make food from the said water.
• Strict Jains do not use leather products in any form.

However, it is seen now a days that most of Jains follow Vegan diet which means excluding all dairy products as it involves significant violence (himsa) against cows. Not only Jains but there are Non-Jains across the world who are also following the Veganism in their quotidian after seeing the truth behind the dairy which is scary wherein cows are forcefully made pregnant through artificial insemination, that male calves are routinely killed at birth, that older cows are killed once their milk production levels begin to drop.

Image Courtesy: PETA

CORONA VIRUS - A WAKE UP CALL TO MANKIND  

Covid-19 has made the world at halt. As per a report, the first outbreak of the virus took place in a wet market in China and the experts think that the Coronavirus transmitted from live animals to human through the food. Covid-19 is not the first virus which has transmitted to humans from animals however history speaks there are viruses like swine flu, bird flu, Ebola, SARS, mad cow disease which have been transmitted to humans by eating animals only and yet no lessons learnt. People are shocked at China for eating wild animals and spreading this Covid-19 virus across the world but how is it different from eating a pig, cow or chicken? They all are animals at the end of the day and none of them deserve this exploitation by anyone. 

As long as people are going to eat meat, there is going to be some risk of infection

            - Dr. Gauden Galea W.H.O Representative

Seventy-five percent of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic. SARS (associated with bats and civet cats, MERS (transmitted to humans from camels in the Middle East), Swine flu, Bird flu, Salmonella, Mad cow disease, Rabies, Lyme disease and Bubonic plague (which resulted in an estimated 50 million deaths in Europe in the 14th century) are just a few examples of zoonotic diseases that have existed for centuries. Depending on the virus, bacteria or parasite, they can be transmitted through interactions with live or dead animals, animal waste or animal products. The human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) and Ebola are the two big zoonotic viruses in Central Africa. Like COVID-19 which was first observed at a Chinese fresh meat market selling a wide range of creatures that crawl, slither, burrow and swim both HIV and the Ebola virus were transmitted to humans from wild animals.

CONCLUSION

Have you ever seen and experienced the cries and helplessness of an innocent animal, who is to be butchered? Ask your conscience when you are consuming non-vegetarian food that whether you are doing right or wrong? Just to satisfy your hunger, you have slaughtered an innocent creature! It is really shameful and disgusting to see one creature satisfying his need by brutally killing another creature. Nowadays, slaughtering of animals is not only resorted to satisfying hunger, but also to satisfy the luxurious needs of people. Animal skins, bones etc., are used to make bags, purses, belts, ornaments etc. Cruelty to animals should be stopped. Many people are now turning to vegetarians due to this ongoing Covid-19 as they are scared and believe that animals can cause damage to their lives. How many more warnings do we need? By taking the advantage of superiority in the cadre of biological evolution, man’s action of killing and hurting other living organism, plants and animals is unwarrantable and it must stop.

The best way to prevent such pandemics in future is to stop eating meat and go vegan/ vegetarian. What goes around comes around, eating animals is a bad habit and it’s not at all necessary. I think people must be made to understand that how much they are being damaged themselves by eating animals. Eating animals causes many health problems like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity. Our habit of eating animals is also driving some of the most significant environmental problems we face. Raising and killing animals for food threatens human health and causes tremendous animal suffering.

Many devastating disease outbreaks come about because humans house animals in filthy, severely crowded farms and markets – breeding grounds for pathogens – in order to satisfy their meat habit

             -Elisa Allen  Director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Eating of animals is largely responsible for the vast swathes of deforestation blighting the planet. Most of deforested land is used either for grazing the animals we eat or for growing the crops to feed these animals. And one should hardly forget that the fact that Covid-19 virus is sweeping the planet today is ultimately the result of eating meat just like all the major disease outbreaks in the past. We have caused a lot of pain to animals and Mother Earth. Let’s stop this now and be kind to all living creatures.

Stop Eating Animals, Go Plant Based, Save Humans, Save Animals, Save Environment and most importantly Live and Let Live

             -Roma Jain

Read: 8 Spiritual Leaders Who Promote Peace and Veganism 
Read More: Does Being Jain Mean Being A Vegetarian, Too?