Jainism - Ahimsa (Non-violence) - the fruits, misconceptions and evolution:
f other beings for its own sake.[22]
Fruits of nonviolence and violence
Main article: Karma in Jainism
The consequences of karma are inevitable. The consequences may take some time to take effect but the karma is never fruitless. To explain this, a Jain monk, Ratnaprabhacharya says: "The prosperity of a vicious man and misery of a virtuous man are respectively but the effects of good deeds and bad deeds done previously. The vice and virtue may have their effects in their next lives. In this way the law of causality is not infringed here."[23]
The latent karma becomes active and bears fruit when the supportive conditions arise. A great part of attracted karma bears its consequences with minor fleeting effects, as generally most of our activities are influenced by mild negative emotions. However, those actions that are influenced by intense negative emotions cause an equally strong karmic attachment which usually does not bear fruit immediately. It takes on an inactive state and waits for the supportive conditions—like proper time, place, and environment—to arise for it to manifest and produce effects. If the supportive conditions do not arise, the respective karmas will manifest at the end of maximum period for which it can remain bound to the soul. These supportive conditions for activation of latent karmas are determined by the nature of karmas, intensity of emotional engagement at the time of binding karmas and our actual relation to time, place, surroundings. There are certain laws of precedence among the karmas, according to which the fruition of some of the karmas may be deferred but not absolutely barred.[23]
Misconceptions of nonviolence
The Jain Scriptures discuss the misconceptions that are harboured in case of Ahiṃsā. They often oppose the Vedic beliefs in sacrifices and other practices that justified violence in various ways. Ācārya Amṛtacandra’sPuruṣārthasiddhyupāya and Ācārya Hemacandra’s Yogaśāstra discuss these wrong beliefs at length to alert the Jain laity to them. Following are such misconceptions that a Jain layman was advised to avoid.
Animal sacrifices
Vedics believed that animals were created for yajna (sacrifice) and hence it was not considered a slaughter, as it elevated not only the person making the sacrifice, but also the animals. This belief was denounced by Hemacandrathat those who mercilessly kill the animals under the pretext of offering the oblations to gods or for the sake of sacrifices are condemned to most terrifying existence in hells.[24][25]Amṛtacandra also condemned this practice by stating that it is a misconception to hold that Gods are pleased at sacrifices of living beings and there is no wrong in committing hiṃsā for the sake of religion. The Vedic practice of offering sacrifices of animals to dead ancestors was also condemned by JainĀcāryas.
Worshipping violent gods
Jain Ācāryas, like Hemacandra, Somadeva, Jinasena also decried the worship of violent vedic Gods who demanded sacrifices of animals and glorified the killing of enemies. ĀcāryaHemacandra says:
Other wrong beliefs
Additionally Amṛtacandra discusses various wrong beliefs. He says that animals should not be killed for guests or persons deserving respect as often advocated in certain scriptures. It is also a wrong belief that wild animals that kill many other animals should be killed. This is often justified in the name of hunting of ferocious animals like tigers for sport. Another wrong belief forwarded to justify killing of ferocious animals is that, these kill many lives and accumulate grave sins and hence killing them is an act of mercy. According to Jainism, killing can never be an act of mercy. It is also a misconception to believe that it is advisable to kill those who are suffering so that they may get relief from agony. These sorts of arguments are forwarded to justify killing of those animals that may have become old or injured and hence have become commercially useless. Other wrong beliefs are killing those who are in state of happiness or those who are in meditation under wrong belief that the mental state at the time of death will be perpetuated in future lives. It is also a wrong belief that killing of self and others is justified as the soul that is imprisoned in the body will be permanently released and achieve salvation.
Nonviolence and vegetarianism
Main article: Jain vegetarianism
Jain vegetarian diet is practised by the followers of Jain culture and philosophy. It is considered to be one of the most rigorous forms of a spiritually-motivated diet on the Indian subcontinent and beyond. The Jain cuisine is completely vegetarian and it also excludes potatoes, onions and garlic, like the shojin-ryoricuisine of Japan. The strictest forms of Jain diet are practised by the monastic ascetics. It also excludes potatoes and other root vegetables.[26][27] The scrupulous and thorough way of applying nonviolence to everyday activities, and especially to food, shapes their entire lives and is the most significant hallmark of Jain identity.[28][29][30][31] For Jains, lacto-vegetarianism (generally known simply as vegetarianism in India) is mandatory. Food which contains even small particles of the bodies of dead animals or eggs is absolutely unacceptable.[32][33] Some Jain scholars and activists support veganism, as the production of dairy products is perceived to involve violence against cows. Strict Jains don’t eat root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers. This is so 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.[34][35] Also, consumption of most root vegetables involves uprooting and killing the entire plant, in contrast to consumption of most other terrestrial vegetables, upon which the plant lives on after plucking the vegetables (or it was seasonally supposed to wither away anyway). Mushrooms, Funguses and Yeasts are forbidden because they are parasites, grow in non-hygienic environments, and may harbour other life forms. Alfalfa is the only known plant that contains vitamin D2, which they may use directly or make vitamin D2 supplements from. Honey is forbidden, as its collection would amount to violence against the bees.[36][37] Jains are also not supposed to consume food left overnight because of contamination by microbes. Most Jain recipes substitute for potato withplantain.[38]
No comments:
Post a Comment