Dealing with bugs or pest infestation in our homes

Q28. As Jains, how do we deal with bugs or pest infestation in our homes?

We are all faced with this kind of situation in our daily lives. When we encounter infestations like ants, cockroaches, flies, termites, mice, mosquitoes, etc. around us and roaming about in our houses, multiplying every day, infesting our food products, causing health issues, biting children and so on, then we find ourselves in a dilemma and it creates inner conflict within us.  

We do not wish to cause harm to any living being, yet we are faced with situations when our actions could cause harm to bugs and pests, and not taking any action is not an option. Additionally, inaction could end up resulting in bigger infestation and more violence.

Navigating such situations is not easy. But that's when understanding the essence of principle of Ahimsa, especially on how it applies to us as laypeople, and its practical application in real life scenarios becomes very critical. As laypeople, we know that our lives cannot survive without some form of violence, so our goal is to resort to minimum violence for healthy survival.

In this article, we will share some scriptural reference that provides perspectives on the importance Jainism places on non-violence towards all living beings, and we will also share some critical nuances that can help create awareness within us as we arrive at a decision to tackle the situation.

We have addressed many practical questions related on Ahimsa on our blog but for this question we are offering an approach for all of us to share our experience and learn from each other. We have a form towards the end of the article that invites you to share your approach so that others can learn from it and our hope is that this collective wisdom will be of service to our community.

 

Jain Scriptural Review

In Jainism, we find numerous scriptural references related for Ahimsa. The Acharanga Sutra talks about the conduct and behavior appropriate for ascetic life. The Yoga Sutra explains Ahimsa vow for laypeople, and we have talked about in many of previous Ahimsa articles. The Sutrakritanga Sutra deals with the question of non-violence and Jain metaphysics.

As we think deeply about these scriptures, it continuous to instils values in us to have utmost reverence for all living beings and live our life with that awareness. It is also important to understand that the information is not meant to paralyze us from carrying out our duties or not take appropriate action when faced with a situation that requires action.

Additionally, Tattvarth Sutra provides a very meaningful framework that can help us frame our mindset such that we can be better informed to take appropriate decisions. We will look at the some of the aspects from Tattvartha Sutra like our way of being (bhaav/reflections) and means employed to take an action in this article.

As we can see, there are no commandments or instructions, instead we must know the principles, understand it, and apply it in our current life situation using our wisdom.

Now, let’s talk about the nuances that we need to be mindful of as we try to figure out what to do

 

So, how do we deal with it?

When our home has been infested then we must act and take necessary steps to prevent such situation in future. When we carry out any action, we need to mindful of the means employed and our inner way of being (bhaav).

What we mean by our inner way of being is introspecting our intention and feeling (bhaav) associated with our action. When we carry out an action with negative energy, intense passion, or feeling of anger, frustration, or revenge then it leads to more Kashayas within us and results in more suffering.

When we are faced with a situation where we are required to take an action then we must do our due diligence and employ the means that causes minimum violence. This requires patience, understanding and willingness to do research.

As you navigate on what action to take, we would like to offer few thoughts for consideration:

Immediate Actions / Reactive

When confronted with a situation where we face presence of ants, mosquitoes, bugs, rats, etc. then consider following aspects as you decide:

-        Try to find alternate non-violent forms of treatment or natural options to remove the infestation

-        If that doesn’t work, then look for options that are least harmful. For example, when considering which chemical to spray do some research on which chemical has least negative implication.

-        Also, consider effect of the option on the ecosystem as a whole. The ecosystem is a fine balance between various life forms, interconnected with each other. Toxic chemicals disturb this balance, by either significantly reducing population of particular species in the chain, or more often causing harm to several species in the chain.

Retrospective

After the situation has been addressed, we want to take time and reflect on what caused this problem. Understand that it could be our ignorance or carelessness that led to this of kind of problem. It could be anything from not maintaining cleanliness, leakage, lose pipes, or leaving food outside.

Preventive

Once the immediate need has been addressed and we have taken some retrospective time, we must focus on how to proactively prevent such situations in future.

-        We need to determine what actions we need to take to stop the infestation at the source, for example, we must seal the entry points. And as we do that it can help us prevent same or similar situations in future.

-        Additionally, we should also focus on creating awareness about non-violent methods in our community like teach such non-violent methods in our Pathshalas and donate toward collating and distributing research in this area. A part of jeevdaya funds collected in temples can be used for this activity.

 

Collective Emergence

We have collected some resources below with practical solutions that we feel are well aligned to Jain values that we have shared in the reference below. However, many of us have faced this kind of situations and employed various alternative non-violent solutions. We would like to invite you share your experiences in service to others using this form. You can share the situation you faced, actions that worked for you, proactive/preventive steps that you suggest, region you belong to, and any other recommendations. 

You can click here to view the collective wisdom from community.

Summary

The literature review points us to understand, that Bhagwan Mahavir said that all species feel pain, and causing unnecessary pain to any life-form should be avoided. While this may be an ideal state, as travellers on the journey bound by certain attachments, we have to accept that day-to-day life is impossible without some form of violence. Confronting ants, mosquitoes, bugs, insects, etc. in our households is one such situation. Instead of being casual about it and adopting violent means immediately, we should seek information and prefer non-violent alternatives, use violent means as a last resort and to the minimum extent possible, while continuing to educate ourselves on alternatives.

As early animal rights activist, Henry Salt, said: 'We would much rather be inconsistently humane than consistently cruel.'

 

Resources

Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring

John Waddel’s book “But You Kill Ants”

Purvi Shah’s video with tips for “Detoxing Your Home in an Eco-Friendly Way”

Jain Rituals - What, Why, How

Q14. Why are rituals important? How should the rituals be performed? What are some of the essential rituals?

First let's define rituals and then we will look into why and how they should be performed. We will also talk about the essential rituals for Jains.

What are rituals?

Ritual, in the religious context, is a set of activities performed to remind basic principles of the religion. They are done in accordance with religious guidelines, social customs, or normal protocols.

Rituals have a symbolic and spiritual significance to the performer. Every religion in the world has their own set of rituals. Rituals are created for the people, by the people, and are an integral part of all religions. Rituals are not meant to be some monotonous, pointless, or meaningless activities, but each ritual has a deep meaning behind it.

There are two aspects that we should consider – Dravya puja and Bhava puja.

• Dravya puja – The physical activities and recitation of sutras are called the rites and rituals. 
• Bhava Puja – The internal reflection that occurs while doing Dravya puja is known as Bhava puja.

The Dravya Puja which is the symbolic aspect must be carried out with proper internal reflection and meditation (Bhava puja) such that our spiritual progress (reduction of our vices or Kashaya) occurs. Without spiritual progress, only performing the Dravya puja has no value.

We must also ensure that we are not using any products like milk, wool, silk, peacock feathers, saffron, varakh, kasturi etc. in Dravya puja that involves significant cruelty. Please refer to the Use of Products that involves Violence / Himsa in Jain Rituals blog post for understanding the cruelty associated with these products in current times and potential alternatives.

Without knowledge and awareness, we are either in false belief, blindly following someone else, or unknowingly promoting the industries that involve cruelty towards animals and such actions result in karma bondage and limits spiritual growth. 

In summary, the internal reflection, meditation and removing mithyatva and kashayas are the goals to be attained and the rituals are the means to achieve that goal.

Why are rituals important?

Rituals are important for any religion to build a culture, strengthen their religious values, and to create a sense of community. Rituals performed with proper understanding are a must for survival of a religion.

Rituals are required and play a significant role to instill values and build up religious interest in children, youth, and future generations. 

The rituals are interwoven in the daily life of a pious Jain to help cultivate virtues like non-violence, tolerance, non-attachment, humbleness, forgiveness, straightforwardness and many more. These virtues help us in daily aspects of life and enable us to live a spiritual, joyful, and peaceful life.

Rituals done properly help us:

• Reduces our kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit)
• Reduces our attachment to worldly objects and physical relationships
• Increase compassion toward other living beings
• Realize true nature of the soul and ultimately lead to liberation

Rituals are intended to enable spiritual growth and serve as a reminder to reflect upon the Jain philosophies, values, and proper conduct. Rituals keep the religion alive and help imprint the religious principles into our minds.

How the rituals should be performed?

Jain Agam Das-vaikalik sutra states the following:

“Padhamum Jnanm Tao Daya.“

First knowledge (Jnan) / understanding and then conduct or action.

This one line provides the essence of how our Tirthankars envisioned the rituals should be performed. But unfortunately, at times, the rituals are performed as some repetitive or habitual activities. They become part of our programmed routine or checklist instead of spiritual experience. We end up focusing on the count or getting it done. We need to pause and ask ourselves honestly: Am I doing this ritual with the right knowledge and understanding? Am I doing this ritual with proper yoga posture, proper recitation of sutra, and meditation? Am I reflecting on how this ritual is helping me?

The rituals must be performed with the right understanding and interpretation, such that it provides spiritual benefits and an inspiring and uplifting experience. We should not carry out any ritual mechanically, blindly, or follow them as tradition without our own wisdom.

For example: The spiritual benefit of fasting is to reduce the attachment or desire towards food. If fasting or any kind of penance is just done mechanically, then it doesn’t result in spiritual benefit. After we fast, we should reflect on how our attachment to food has changed. The reduction to our attachment and getting closer to the true nature of our soul is the spiritual act and the net result of any penance.

The Jain ritual defines that the sutras are to be recited in a certain physical posture and correct pronunciation along with proper reflection in order to derive a spiritual benefit of a ritual. Both physical and internal reflection are various forms of Yoga. In general, Yoga is defined as that which connects with the soul or leads to liberation.

There are two forms of Yoga for rituals, namely:

• Kriya-Yoga includes all physical movement, activity, physical posture and recitation of sutras.
• Jnana-Yoga is the knowledge about the ritual along with proper internal reflection during its performance. It instills the feelings and thoughts as per the meaning of the ritual and absorbs it in the consciousness.

Kriya and Jnana together are critical for the proper performance of any ritual.

Practicing of any ritual starts with understanding the spiritual purpose of the rituals. Ritual must be performed with proper knowledge, understanding and reflection.

Daily Essential Jain Rituals

Jainism is a very practical religion and it helps us in every walk of life. There are several rituals in place to remind us and help us progress spiritually. One of the ways is a daily practice of six Avashyaka (essentials). Mahavir Swami introduced the six essential rituals to practice daily. There are some differences that exist between Shvetambar and Digambar traditions.

Six Essentials of Shvetämbar-Tradition

Samayik	To remain calm, undisturbed and in the state of equanimity for at least 48 minutes daily. This daily practice is intended to raise our spirituality and inner strength such that we can maintain the state of equanimity throughout the day.
Chauvisattho	To pray and remember the qualities of the 24 Tirthankaras. This daily practice is intended to appreciate the Tirthankaras virtues and emulate those in our daily life.
Vandana	To respect Ascetics and provide food (Gochari) and other items like clothes and medicine. This daily practice is intended to cultivate respect, humility, and selfless service.
Pratikraman	To reflect, repent, and re-approach upon wrong thoughts, words and actions and ask for forgiveness for the same. This daily practice keeps us constantly awake and aware about our way of living life.
Kayotsarga	To stay motionless for a varying length of time (Meditation). During Kayotsarga one is neither in the past nor in the future. This daily practice helps us concentrate on the true nature of our soul. Self-awareness is in the present and hence, it can help detach ourselves from worldly attachments.
Pratyakhyana	To take vows to renounce certain activities which can reduce the influx of karmas. This daily practice is intended to discipline ourselves, to control our desires and prepare us for bigger renunciation.

Six Essentials of Digambar-Tradition

Devapujä	Paying respect and appreciating the virtues of the Tirthankaras
Gurupästi	Devotion and service to ascetics
Swädhyäy	Studying of Scriptures
Sanyam	Self-restraint
Tapa	Penance
Däna	Charity

The purpose of these six Aavashyaks is to raise our spirituality and reduce/eliminate our kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit) on a daily basis.

Occasion Oriented Jain Rituals:

Following are some of the most popular festivals in Jainism –

Pancha Kalyänak – Five major events (Pancha Kalyänak) of the life of a Tirthankar

Conception Event (Chyavana Kalyänak)	When a Tirthankar’s soul is conceived in the mother’s womb.
Birth Event (Janma Kalyänak)	When a Tirthankar is born
Renunciation Event (Dikshä Kalyänak)	When a would-be Tirthankar gives up all worldly possessions and family relationships and initiates into the ascetic order
Omniscience Event (Keval-jnän Kalyänak)	When a Tirthankar becomes free of the four Ghäti Karma by the practice of severe discipline, penance, and meditation, and attains Keval-jnän.
Nirvana Event (Nirvana Kalyänak)	When a Tirthankar is liberated from the cycle of birth and death and becomes a Siddha. The Tirthankar destroys the remaining four Aghäti Karma and is now free from all Karma.

Paryushan/Dash Lakshana - During the months of August- September, Paryushan/Dash Lakshana is an important festival of forgiveness and atonement for Jains. Paryushan means staying close to our soul.

Mahavir Janma Kalyanak - It is also known as Mahavir Jayanti. It is an auspicious occasion to celebrate the birth of Lord Mahavir, the 24th and the last Tirthankara, over 2600 years ago. It is observed on the thirteenth day of the bright half of the moon in the month of Chaitra (March/April).

Diwali - Diwali teaches us to uphold the true values of life, to destroy ignorance that prevents humanity, and to drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge. Diwali is celebrated for five days and each day has its own significance: Dhanteras, Kali Chaudas, Diwali (Nirvana day for Mahavir Swami), New Year and Bhai Beej.

Navpad Oli - Nine Elements – It is also called Ayambil Oli. Jain observes Festival of Navpad oli, that last for nine days, twice a year. The first one falls in the bright fortnight of Ashwina month (September/October) and the second during the bright fortnight of Chaitra month (March/April).

Ashtanhika Parv - This is a Jain festival celebrated for eight days three times a year in the months of Kartik (October/November), Falgun (February/March), and Ashdah (June/July). It is celebrated from the eighth day of Shukla Paksh (Waxing moon Cycle) till Purnima/Guru Purnima every year.

Summary

Rituals are important and critical stepping-stones for our spiritual progress. Rituals performed mechanically without knowledge, understanding, and reflection does not provide any spiritual benefit. Also, if the rituals are performed out of fear, ego, greed, deceit, or personal gain, they are pointless and provide no benefit.

We want to ensure that rituals are performed with the right understanding and are enhancing our spiritual growth. Rituals done properly help reduce/eliminate our kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit), help us realize the true nature of the soul and ultimately leads us to liberation.

The daily rituals / practices are intended to raise our spirituality, increase our inner strength, practice meditation, self-control, reflection, self-awareness, and essentially allow us to live by our Jain values and maintain the state of equanimity in all situations.

Is Ignorance Acceptable / Justifiable in Jainism...

Q12. There is so much violence in the preparation of commercial food items and products used on daily basis. Is it better to just remain ignorant about such violence or is it better to have knowledge/awareness about it?

This is an important overarching question. With so much violence around us, whether it is in the food items we eat, products we use, what we buy, where we buy from, environmental footprint or things we accumulate. All the choices we make have an impact.

There are situations in which violence is very apparent, for example using leather/wool/silk vs. cotton or eating meat vs. vegetables. And then there are situations when the violence is not very apparent but there is a high possibility of violence. For example,

• Goods made in countries where ethical standards, labor laws, environmental laws are lax or non-existent

• Food products, beauty products, cleaning products involving unethical or cruel treatment towards animals

• Dairy products (milk, butter, ghee, ice cream, sweets and so on) that inflicts highest cruelty on cows – every milk producing cows are slaughtered after about 5 years and almost every male calf is slaughtered immediately after birth.  

The intent of this question is to address the situations where violence is not apparently visible. So, under this context:

Is it better to make our choices while remaining ignorant about such violence or have knowledge about it and do the best that we can by following the Jain principle of minimum violence?

Nonviolence is the highest principle of Jain Religion. If our principle/value is nonviolence towards all living beings, then remaining ignorant is not an option.

Jainism Perspective on Knowledge vs. Ignorance

The core principle of Jainism is the path of knowledge. Spiritual growth means continuous learning, seeking for information and then changing our actions based on that.

If we conduct our action keeping ourselves in a state of ignorance (in Mithyatva or wrong belief) then we cannot make spiritual progress.  In fact, the Jain principle firmly states that any action performed in a state of ignorance is always wrong from spiritual point of view even if the action may have helped many other people.

Let’s explore few examples:

-     We are aware of potential violence in food we consume or product we use, yet we choose to remain ignorant and not make the effort to gain or verify the information. In this case, we are conducting our action in ignorance, there is no hope for our spiritual growth or change, and we continue to acquire more bad karma.

-     The impact of our tax dollars by the government which we may not have bothered to learn about or tried to influence through our obligation to participate in civic affairs.

-     The impact of our 401K (retirement) and other stock market investments which may be encouraging and enabling corporations to commit violence to improve our returns. How many of us have made a conscious effect to divest?

-     We donate some funds to charity and then we make sure that we receive good recognition for our donation, and we take pride in it. In this case, there is subtle ignorance at bhav / intention level. Our “Ego” is satisfied which indicates that our action has increased our vices (Kashayas) and hence we acquire more bad karma even though many people are being helped.

If we are conducting actions in wrong belief, delusion or by choosing to remain ignorant then it is inexcusable (unjustifiable) from Jainism perspective. In fact, willfully ignoring the knowledge of suffering caused by our actions is not only inexcusable, but we have an obligation to understand the consequences of every action we take. Jainism considers conducting actions under Mithyatva (delusion or wrong belief) as of the highest forms of sin. Without knowledge and awareness, we are in either in false belief or blindly following someone else and that invariable results in higher form karma bondage and stagnates spiritual growth.

Proper knowledge is required before any action is carried out. Jain Agam scripture Das-vaikalik Sutra states that “Padhamam Jnanam Tao Daya” (First knowledge then Conduct or non-violent action).

Once we have any new information, we must also test it with our own reasoning and verify with our experience and only then, it becomes our own. We can then use that wisdom for our future actions.  

Depending on our circumstances, we might not be able to act on information right away but with proper knowledge and awareness, there is hope!

Following Path of Minimum Violence for Our Healthy Survival

Human life cannot exist without violence. For our existence we need food, clothing, and shelter. Hence Jain principle states that for our survival, we must follow the path of minimum violence.

It is important for us to understand the guidelines of practicing minimum violence.

Muni Shree Nyayvijaji (the undisputed scholar of Jain Logic) explains how to practice minimum violence in his book Jain Darshan. Here are the links to his article on “The Principle of Minimum Violence for Human's Survival” in Hindi, English and Gujarati.

The Jain principle states that the degree of violence inflicted to any living being is proportional to the number of senses a living being possesses.

A living being who possesses more senses equate to more development of its faculty of knowledge.  Therefore, hurting or exploiting one five sense living being is worse than hurting many four sense living beings and three senses living beings and so on. Please refer to this blog post for details about five senses and their role from Ahimsa point of view.

The Order of Degree of Violence (highest to lowest) as per soul classification defined in Jiv-vichar book:

1.    Human Beings

2.    Five sensed Animals

3.    Four sensed Movable Beings such as flies, bees

4.    Three sensed Movable Beings such as ants, lice

5.    Two sensed Living Beings such as insects

6.    One sense Beings - vegetables, water, air, earth, and fire

Violence can be in any form such as killing, exploiting, verbal abuse, physical violence, emotional or mental abuse etc.

Since human life can healthily survive by consuming only one sense beings (fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, water etc.) we should not kill, hurt or exploit two to five senses living beings.  Hence Jainism propagates consuming only one sense being for healthy survival and no wastage. Any food we waste, or any clothing and shelter we do not use is also considered violence because we have killed more one sense beings than we need for our healthy survival.

In the past 100-200 years, our lifestyle has become part of a very complex and interconnected world of advanced technology, global economics, extreme specialization of labor, complex corporate and political dynamics, all of which lead to a disconnectedness between our personal actions and the resulting effects on the rest of the humanity and on the planet’s ecosystem. Hence, as conscious individuals we have an important moral obligation to become aware of these cause and effect dynamics, and to act in ways to reduce our role in it.

If our action cause the environmental degradation (such as using plastics plates, water bottles, bags, foams cups and glasses etc..) it should be considered the highest form of violence as it affects all of us living beings on the planet, causing death, displacement, disease, and other types of suffering. Also, our non-biodegradable waste (plastic, styrofoam etc.) destroys sea life significantly.

We must also make sure that we don't micro-manage our approach of minimizing violence to one sense so much that we lose the sight of the bigger picture of not hurting five sense living being. We need to always keep the highest goals of non-violence towards humans, other five sensed living beings and strive to minimize violence towards other four, three, and two sense movable living beings.

What can we do?

It seems like in our consumerist society, there is increasing amount of violence for companies to succeed and make money, and for consumers to get what they want and when they want it. In such situation, we must ensure that our actions are in in-sync with our values and principles.

When we buy something, we have a responsibility to understand how that product was produced and what violence may have been committed for it to be acquired. Similarly, when we throw something in the trash, we should understand the complete chain of events and set of consequences of the action. With the awareness, we can consciously avoid / limit actions that causes harm and we have an opportunity to choose an option with less violence rather than being ignorant and choosing the one that is most convenient / pleasurable in worldly sense.

We need to understand the principles and then apply them in current situation. We have been programmed certain way but when it comes to making our choices, we need to do the due diligence of gaining as much information as we can. Plus, nowadays given technology/internet, we can do the required research very efficiently to ensure that we have the knowledge and awareness.

Since life cannot exists without violence, we must strive towards minimizing violence. We are our own judge and jury when it comes to making our choices and determining our acceptable level of violence while simultaneously nurturing our spiritual growth.