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.

Jainism view on Wars, Fighting for Injustice, Oppression, Freedom...

Q11. What is Jain view on wars - political, economic, religious or ethnic? How about fighting for injustice, oppression and freedom?

These are important question that we will address from various perspectives. We will look at it from Jain values/principles, scriptures, examples from history and logical reasoning so that we can use our own wisdom in any given situation and keep our spirituality intact and progressing. We are addressing this question from lay-people (shravak and shravikas) perspective.

We will talk about this in two parts. First Jainism views on spirituality to prevent situations like war, injustice, oppression or slavery and then what can we do if we are in any of such situations.

Jainism perspective on spirituality and war:

There are many references in Jain scriptures that all underpins the importance of living a spiritual, compassionate and peaceful life.

Jainism advocates and provides guidance on removing societal conditions that preludes the war, mainly reduce inequality and insecurity, overcoming our inner weaknesses and structuring our life based on spiritual awareness.

-    Ahimsa is at the core of Jainism. Ahimsa means to not hurt any living beings, through our thoughts, words or actions. It means to respect all living beings and have compassion towards all living beings, no exceptions.

-    In Sutrakritang, it is clearly mentioned that there is nothing higher than the sense of security, it says one should not fear from others and one should not cause fear to others. Accumulation of arms and weapons are considered a means of security yet these, instead of giving security, generate fear and a sense of insecurity in the party that doesn’t have them. These insecurities start a race for accumulation of superior weapon and eventually a war.

-    Lord Mahavira in Acharanga sutra proclaimed "Atthi sattham parenaparam, Natthi asattham parenaparam" i.e. There are weapons superior to each other, but nothing is superior to disarmament or non-violence. It is the selfish and aggressive outlook of an individual or a society that gives birth to war and violence.

-    Tattvartha sutra written by Acharya Umaswati (aka Umaswami) stated that mutual cooperation is the essential nature of human beings and the function of the soul is to help one another.

-    Uttaradhyayana Sutra underpins the importance of war with oneself to get rid of insecurities that runs as precursor for war and conflicts.

Ideally, we don’t want war, injustice, oppression or slavery. But what if we are in middle of any such situation? What is our responsibility and what are acceptable actions for lay people?

What can we do if we are any undesirable situations like war, injustice, oppression, slavery?

For lay people it is very important to understand the Jain principles and scriptures such that we maintain our spirituality, yet we don’t miss out on fulfilling any of our responsibilities.

Agams contains the vows (vrat) for Shravak/Shravika and for Sadhu/Sadhvis, and they are different for both.

Mahavrat is vows for Sadhu/Sadhvi and it includes complete non-violence. 

Ahimsa vow for Shravak and Shravika is called Anuvrat. Here’s the verse from yoga sastra that explains the ahimsa vow for laypeople:

સ્થૂલ પ્રાણાતિપાત વિરમણ વ્રત:-

નિષ્કારણ, નિરપરાધી, ત્રસજીવોની સંકલ્પપૂર્વકની હિંસાનો ત્યાગ

Sthuul pranaatipat viramaan vrat 

Nishkaran (without valid reason) Niraparadhi (not guilty)
Trasjeevai (2-5 sensed beings) Sankalp-Poorvani (premeditated/planned) Himsa (violence) Tyaag (avoid/give up)

At the core, it means laypeople should avoid/give-up premeditated/planned violence towards 2-5 sensed living beings, which are not guilty, and there is no valid reason.

So, for lay people, minimum violence for protection is acceptable. It is our responsibility as lay people to protect our self, family, religion, state and country and if needed we should use force or violence. None of our values/principles are meant to make us weak or prevent us from fulfilling our responsibilities. We must take the required action for protection but without any kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit) internally.

In history, we have many examples, such as historically very famous Acharya Shri Kalakacharya for the protection Sadhviji, King Bhamasha, Vastupal and Tejpal fought for protection of self and others. Contemporary times are very different from 2500 years ago, however, the application of Jain values/principles remains the same.

Little more recent example is of Gandhiji fighting for injustice, oppression and freedom.  During the British rule over India, British had a law that forbid Indians to mine their own salt.  On top of that, the British imposed a tax on salt which was coming from India’s own land.  Gandhiji felt this was wrong. But he did not go off in the middle of the night to break the law. His intention was not to cheat the law. Rather, he told the British that he was doing a salt march and will be mining the salt and he is willing to be arrested. He was protesting for the sake of the cause, not protesting for any other reason.

Let’s look at a more practical example.  If an intruder enters our house and we harm that individual in self-defense, then that is acceptable. But violence out of aggression or revenge is not acceptable.  If the intruder leaves and we yet go after him for the purpose of harming him instead turning him to the authority, then that is not acceptable.

Bottom line

Ideally, we don’t want war, oppression or any kind of injustice. And at an individual level, we should raise our spirituality such that we don’t introduce or escalate situations that starts the injustice or wars. However, if we are in any situation that requires us to protect self, family, religion, country then we must act but without aggression or any kashayas within.

We must follow the law of the land we reside in; we can protest the law but cannot violate the law.  We must be very mindful and honest in deciding if a war/fight is for a valid cause and not with an intention to hurt 2-5 sense living beings, personal gains or to gain more power over others.

Jainism view on Sallekhana, Suicide, Euthanasia and Death Penalty.

Q10. What is Sallekhana? What is Suicide & Euthanasia? Is Sallekhana considered Suicide? What are Jain views on Death Penalty?

We are addressing this question from the perspective of lay people

SALLEKHANA:

It is also known as Santhara, Samadhi-maran, Samlehna.

Jain definition of Sallekhana is very explicit and clear.

Sallekhana is the religious practice performed with FULL AWARENESS & KNOWLEDGE of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually reducing/limiting one's movements, then gradually reducing the intake of solid food, and finally reducing the intake of fluids.

Jainism believes that the process of sallekhana at the end of one’s life, while being engaged in meditation, serves to prevent the accumulation of bad karmas as well as assisting the soul in spiritual purification.

Observing Sallekhana leads to Ahimsa as the person observing it detaches or reduces his/her Kashayas, which are considered the root cause of himsa.

Jain religion allows to perform Sallekhana to monks, nuns, shravaks, and shravikas. Sallekhana is rare, performed only when death is imminent.

Sallekhana should be performed only when a person:

-        Is terminally ill

-        With no hope of a cure or recovery

-        Is fully aware about his condition

-        Realizes that there is no usefulness of his life to be able to further his spiritual progress

In other words, a person is not capable of doing Nirjara of one’s karma and hence his human life is a burden to others. Then, and ONLY then, can he take a vow (pachhkhan) of Sallekhana from a Guru, and the Guru must agree with the decision before giving pachhkhan.

A person in a coma or in severe pain, who is not completely aware about his/her state of mind should not be given the vow of Santharo. The decision to take Sallekhana cannot be taken by relatives or society or disciples and must never be done for fame or prestige.

Sallekhana is a private event and it is taken with an intention of having a spiritual death. It should not be made a public affair and turn it into a celebration because person taking the vow needs privacy to remain in meditative state until the last breath.

Process of performing Sallekhana

The person who decides to take the vow of Sallekhana:

-        Makes the decision to end his/her life and family members are aware (unlike suicide)

-        Should discuss with a Guru and get Guru’s permission

-        Requests forgiveness from others and forgives all for any sinful acts in their life

-        Remains in the state of forgiveness & in Pratikraman 

-        Should eliminate all the fear, grief, hatred, regret, prejudice, attachment, etc. from his mind to the fullest extent

-        Remains in meditative state on the innermost self, the soul till the end

If after taking the Sallekhana vow, a person has doubts or second thoughts, then the process of Sallekhana must not be continued, and one should withdraw from it.

If after taking the Sallekhana vow, arta-dhyaan (sorrowful dhyaan) occurs in the person due to not drinking water, not consuming any food, or not taking any medicines, then the process of Sallekhana must not be continued, and one should withdraw from it. Then one should take appropriate steps to eliminate arta-dhyaan because in arta-dhyaan the person is immersed in thoughts of suffering, agony and anguish. Such mental state leads to very high negative karma bondage and defeats the purpose of having a spiritual death.

Sallekhana is not considered suicide, and unlike suicide, it is not spontaneous or immediate. On the contrary, it is a slow process and can take as many as 30+ days.  A person taking Sallekhana has to be fully aware to make the decision with his/her own will.

So, for a successful and rightful Sallekhana, the decision must be made VOLUNTARILY, with FULL KNOWLEDGE/AWARENESS, PROPER PLANNING, and undertaken CALMLY & PEACEFULLY, with a focus on SPIRITUALITY, FORGIVENESS, and reduction in one’s own Kashayas.

SUICIDE:

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. It is an immediate death. A person can decide to take his/her own life when he/she is depressed, when one is experiencing intense emotional pain, or generally thinks that life is not worth living. As far as Jain religion is considered, suicide is considered as committing a murder. Suicide is an instantaneous and purposeful killing hence one acquires Karmas equivalent of killing a five-sensed human being.

As per Jainism, from all the life forms (84 lakh yoni) where our soul can take birth, it is only this very human birth which is the most precious. This is because human life is viewed as a rare opportunity for the soul to reach enlightenment and ultimately Liberation.

So, to commit suicide, regardless of any circumstance/situation the person is in, is depriving one's self from the opportunity to reduce or eliminate kashayas/karmas and there by hindering their own spiritual growth or liberation. Therefore, Suicide is NOT ACCEPTABLE AND NOT ALLOWED in Jainism.

EUTHANASIA:

It is also known as mercy killing.

Euthanasia is an act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.

From Jain point of view, euthanasia is NOT considered as sallekhana.

DEATH PENALTY:

Strictly from Jain principles point of view, we do not have any right to take some one’s life and hence Death penalty is NOT acceptable. 

However, we MUST obey the laws of the land that we reside in.  One can protest the law but cannot violate the law.

Jainism view on having a Pet...

Q9. Is it acceptable in Jainism to have a pet?

First, let’s talk about the basic tenets of Ahimsa relevant for this question. Once we understand and internalize the basic principles, we need to use our own wisdom to apply them in our current environment:

-        Ahimsa means to not hurt any living beings, including animals, through our thoughts, words and actions

-        Ahimsa means to respect all living beings and have compassion towards all living beings

-        Ahimsa means to let the living beings live in their natural habitat

-        Ahimsa means to not use animals, directly or indirectly, for our physical, emotional or any other needs

Jainism advocates following path of minimum violence for lay-people (Shravak and Shravikas), which implies using only one-sense living beings for our healthy survival and not hurting any movable two sense and higher living beings.

When it comes to having a pet, there are few basic questions: Why do you want a pet? How/where are you going to get the pet from? And other considerations like what would you feed the pet, environmental impact, companionship of same species?

Why do you want a pet?

The reasons for owning a pet can range from companionship, therapy, want to give a shelter to an animal, just because all my friends have it, it is becoming a trend now etc.

Whatever the reason might be, adopting a pet animal and bringing it inside a house restricts their freedom and deprives them of their natural habitat and companionship of its own species. Animals aren’t meant to be used by humans for their needs. Domestication of animals started only because of humans.

Buying a pet from a pet store / puppy mill

There is a lot of violence in pet breeding industries. For example, the state of Kansas is the largest puppy breeder in America. For every 1 puppy to put into market, 3-4 puppies are killed which are non-sellable.  

The pet industry also causes other kinds of violence to the animals that it sells. They separate the mothers from their litters shortly after birth, causing emotional anguish that may be out of sight to the pet owner, but very real, nonetheless. They also generally neuter or spay the animals. Even though this is done for the good intention of preventing more unwanted animals, it still causes violence and prevents them from having normal reproductive functions. As a result, if you buy animals from pet store, breeder or any commercial sources, then you are becoming a direct contributor towards such violence and this would be harmful to your spiritual growth even if you are treating that animal kindly with shelter, food, and companionship.

Rescuing a pet or using a pet as a guide/therapy/service animal

For Example, a neighbor is moving, he can’t find a home for his pet dog and he offers you to take care of it or he will put the dog to sleep. In this example, if you are willing, capable and you can take care of the pet then you are saving a pet’s life and you are having a pet out of compassion.

Another example is adoption of abandoned animal from shelter that in returns provides valuable companionship and possibly even support for an older or special needs person.

These are few such justifiable scenarios in which you may be saving a life and preventing violence.  However, you want to be mindful of directly/indirectly not promoting use of animals for human needs.

Feeding pet animals

Among the two most popular pets, dogs and cats, both are generally carnivorous. By keeping a pet, you obligate yourself to feeding the animal its preferred and natural diet. Often that will lead the owner to feed the pets non-vegetarian food, which, in turn, makes the owner complicit in supporting the entire meat industry, not just the portion eaten by the animals. This is because the meat industry uses the by-products of slaughter that are not suitable for human consumption for pet food, effectively subsidizing the cost of animal agriculture. By keeping a pet that requires non-vegetarian food, one is effectively engaging in the killing of cows, pigs, chickens, and fish to support their need for a pet.

If you decide to feed your pet vegan or vegetarian food, then it is very important to make sure your pet gets regular vet checkups to make sure they are getting the nutrients they need. For example, it is typically said that cats have to be carnivorous due to their need for taurine and arginine, which are not normally found in plant-based foods. Taurine and arginine aren’t just desirable for cats, but they are essentially because without enough taurine cats will go blind. Fortunately, Taurine and arginine can both be synthesized from vegan sources, and so these are typically found in vegan cat foods, including the brands Wysong, Benevo, and Ami. This is just one example but if you keep a pet, then you have to do the due diligence and research in determining their nutritional needs and alternatives.

Pets also have an adverse effect on the environment. A recent study by UCLA found that dogs and cats are responsible for 25 to 30 percent of the environmental impact of meat consumption in the United States. Furthermore, they can also carry disease, pollute waterways, and coastal zones through runoff from areas with feces, and have adverse effects on wildlife.

Companionship of its own species

Most pet animals are social / pack animals and require the company of others of their own kind. However, few pet owners are able to adopt multiple animals to keep them company. In other cases, these animals are locked up in homes like prisons for long periods of time, at the mercy of their owners to come home and interact with them. The justification that they appear happy and lead materially more comfortable lives than they could in the wild, are not valid justifications for subjugating animals for the purpose of our entertainment, companionship, or functional support. 

What is the root cause? And how can we address the root cause?

If it weren’t for humans, animals would never have been domesticated. Humans mostly started domesticating animals for their needs and now we are in this vicious circle. Just because the need keeps on increasing, puppy breeder keeps on increasing the supply. And as noted earlier for every 1 puppy to put into market, 3-4 non-sellable puppies are killed.

If these domesticated animals were sent back to their natural habitat without preparing/training them, then they wouldn’t be able to survive in the new environment either.

We cannot change all the impacts of animal domestication overnight. But at an individual level, we can stop contributing towards increasing the demand. And we can also focus on our spiritual growth so that we aren’t depending on pet for our emotional needs.

Bottom line

We strongly suggest against buying a pet animal from a pet store or commercial sources. In specific scenarios, we must use our own wisdom to do what's right at the time.

If we can help any living being in any way, then we must do so. We should never miss an opportunity to help all different forms of life around us if we have the capacity to do it.

We should also work towards growing spiritually and becoming emotionally strong, so we can eliminate our dependence of our emotional well-being on any external factors.

Eating Meat of Naturally Dead Animals

Q8. One of the students at Pathshala wants to know why one cannot eat naturally dead cow's meat. She does not want to do it. However, her classmate asked, and she could not answer. Do you have a good answer for it?

On the surface this question might seem extraneous with an obvious answer, however, it stems from systematic understanding of Ahimsa principle and awareness about existence of life in one, two, three, four and five sensed living beings. Please refer to this blog post for details about five senses and their role from Ahimsa point of view.

This question can be addressed in one of the two ways:

·       Asking an individual to “not question it” and just follow what is being said. Using this approach is easy and simple, but in the long run, it will either drive the individuals away from religion and spiritual lifestyle, or create a community that would follow religion blindly, that is, without any understanding of their own.

Or

·       Aid individuals in understanding the values, principles and logical reasoning, so that the individuals can use their own logic and wisdom. Nowadays, people have information at their fingertips, there is increased awareness and they want to think, understand and reason it out for themselves.

Our intent in addressing this question is to create a positive and enriching experience about the religion, enable understanding and answer questions for curious minds who want to understand rather than follow blindly.

This question can be interpreted in many ways. The question is not about eating meat or debating on natural causes for animal's death. The focus and intend of the question is:-

• If an animal is naturally dead (animal’s soul has parted/the dead body is not living)
• By eating meat of that animal equivalent amount of plant lives are saved
• Assumption is that technically there is no violation of non-violence principle. Then is it allowed in Jainism?

And the answer is NO.

Jain Acharyas did not allow it and consequently the Jain societies have been protected from the negative implications that may result from these types of actions.

As an example - Buddhism has the similar five great vows like Jainism. However, the non-violence vow has been mis-interpreted and exploited and meat eating has proliferated in some Buddhist culture.

“According to Theravada sect of Buddhism, Buddha allowed his monks to eat pork, chicken and fish if the monk was aware that the animal was not killed on their behalf.” 

In other words, Buddha allowed eating meat of a dead animal with some caveats in place. Those caveats and loopholes are now being taken advantage of by some.

In Bangkok, some restaurants have signs “we sell only dead animal’s meat”. This implies that animals were not killed for their meat.  Rather animals died naturally and then their body is being used as meat.  Hence many Buddhist people and monks eat the meat in the restaurant without thinking twice or feeling guilty about it.

One can see that industries and businesses take advantage of this kind of loopholes.  How can that many animals die naturally where the restaurants always have meat dishes for their customers?

Every action by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing/injury to animals and/or every action that knowingly or unknowingly promotes the industries that involves cruelty towards animals is a form of violence (himsa). When it comes to any form of violence, whether we are doing it (karyu), making someone else do it (karavyu) or directly/indirectly promoting others to do it (karta anumodiyu), then it results in karma bondage and limits our spiritual growth.

In Jainism, food is restricted to that originating from plants, since plants have only one sense (ekindiya) and are the least developed form of life. Research shows a plant-based diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes and nuts, is rich in fiber, vitamins and other nutrients also has health benefits, such as reducing your risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Consuming any food that is harmful to our body is violence towards ourselves.

Death of an animal will promote growth of bacteria in the body. This fact can lead to questions about himsa at bacteria level related to food consumption. However, consumption of yogurt or fermented food (dosa/idli/ dhokla batter) also incurs bacteria growth. Even farming also incur himsa at bacteria level. From a layperson perspective, for our healthy survival we cannot avoid himsa at the bacteria level but attempt to minimize it. Here our aim is to discuss himsa to five sense animals, which is considered highest sinful act than millions of bacteria (one or two sense invisible living beings) in Jainism.    

Jainism has one of the most rigorous forms of spiritually motivated diet on the Indian subcontinent.  Whether the animal is dead naturally or butchered, the meat is still “meat”.  We should think about how our food choices fit into our spiritual path or our vision for transforming ourselves?

If Jain Acharya’s would allow the exceptions to such rules, then people will find ways to exploit it and compromise ethical standards. People forget the circumstances or the caveats and start following it as a norm. If there is a leeway, people get a tendency towards eating it and when something becomes part of the culture then it takes time to overcome it and people continue to follow it blindly. In Jainism, this is what happened with dairy consumption, people are culturally programmed to consume dairy products, despite of the cruelty towards five sense animals in current times. (See this blog post for details). In the past, milk and other dairy products were allowed only for medical purpose and with Acharya’s permission, however it has become a norm even though raas-tyag is the fourth vow of nirjara.

Because of such negative implications to society and people going into wrong directions, Jainism does not allow such exceptions/actions with meat consumption.

Jainism perspective on Alcohol Consumption...

Q7. Is it okay to drink alcohol according to Jainism? What is Jainism’s guidance on occasional, social drinking or once in a year?

Youth and Parents frequently ask this question. Drinking of all forms (occasional, social, at parties, happy hours) are widely proliferating among Jain youths and adults in Western world in many places. The intent of providing information here is to empower individuals to make their own decisions and be able to defend their decision. Once we have the information and clarity behind guidance provided by the religion then we can use our own wisdom to take the decisions that are right for us.

Bottom Line Up Front: Jainism Principle/Outlook on Alcohol Consumption

According to Jainism, alcohol consumption of any kind is not allowed. Jainism has never allowed any exceptions either, like allowing occasional or social drinking. This kind of position has protected the Jain societies (to a certain extent) from the negative implications that have resulted and/or can result from alcohol consumption. Now let’s explore the reasons/logic behind this position.

Ingredients and Process of Alcohol Production

From ingredients perspective, beer for example is made from four basic ingredients: Barley, water, hops and yeast. The basic idea is to extract the sugars from grains (usually barley) so that the yeast can turn it into alcohol and CO2, creating beer. The process includes malting, mashing, boiling and fermentation. The entire process takes a few weeks to produce the final product. There are no animal products in the ingredients, except fermentation which includes innumerable bacteria that is similar to making yogurt, dosa/idli or dhokla batter.  

From production process perspective, some beers and wines go through a process of filtration called ‘fining’ using animal-derived products like fish gelatin or isinglass (produced from swim bladder of fish) or plant-derived products like Irish moss. Even though the fining agent is removed before consumption, the process involves himsa when using animal-derived products. Most breweries do not reveal if they do or do not use animal products in the processing of their beers/wine, however there are some exceptions.

Primary reason against alcohol consumption

The most important reason against alcohol consumption is the effect of alcohol on the mind and soul. In Jainism, any action or reaction that alter or impacts our mind is violence/himsa towards our own self, which is a five-sense human being. Violence to other five sense beings or to our self is same violence.  In fact, our mental state is more Kashayaful when we hurt our self than others. 

Alcohol affects our mind, which affects our Samyaktva (Right Faith and Right Knowledge) and negatively affect our spiritual progress. Spiritually successful life is about being aware moment to moment and making mindful choices every moment. Any food that affects or has a potential to affect our mind is absolutely prohibited in Jainism.

Alcohol severely deteriorates our decision-making capability, degrades our judgement to decide right from wrong, loosen inhibitions and lead people to speak and act in ways that are harmful to self and others. In that moment, we lose spirituality that we might have acquired with numerous practices over a long period of time.

Additionally, there are seven major addictions (maha-vyasan) defined in the Jain literature. Jain lay people should not indulge in those addictions and alcohol is one of them. 
1) Non-vegetarian diet (mansahaar), 2) Alcohol (daaru), 3) Gambling (jugaar), 4) Stealing (chori), 5) Illicit relation with somebody who is not your spouse (para-stri-gaman), 6) Relation with prostitute (veshya-gaman) and 7)Hunting (shikaar).  These activities have the potential to become addictive and habitual with severe negative implications. And if these addictions become habitual necessities of the body then one experiences severe withdrawal symptoms when trying to give up any addiction.

So, to be clear, it is not only the product that is wrong, but primarily it is the characteristics of the product and the way it affects our mind that is harming us.

Effect of Alcohol on our health / body

Alcohol is a poison for the body. It is associated with a variety of negative effects on health (contributing to liver damage, obesity / diabetes, heart health, etc.). In this sense, it is harmful first to our mind, and also to our body. Abusing alcohol means that we are polluting the home of our soul.

Occasional or Social Drinking

Characteristic of alcohol is that it slows down our thinking. Alcohol changes the we way think and feel, and hence influences the way we act. Of course, the impact of alcohol increases with amount consumed. How many people just have one drink occasionally their entire life and never indulge in more? How many people started with one drink and now drink often? There may be such people, but they are very rare.

Jainism has never allowed exceptions like allowing one drink or social drinking because of the negative implications to the society and people going into wrong direction. Once there is leeway, people get the tendency towards drinking and it can become a problematic situation. And when something becomes part of the culture then it takes time to overcome it. When we allow an exception to such rules then people will find ways to exploit it.

Overcoming External Factors and Belief Systems

There are always going to be external factors that come into play like social pressure, peer pressure, desire to fit in, that’s the way to make friends, that is what all my friends do, that’s what the majority of people at work do, we feel out of place if we don’t drink, we are drinking to socialize, we are drinking to relax… and the list can go on and on. These are all the factors that people do face in current times. But we need to be aware and mindful of what we are doing and why.

Also, we need to recognize widely spread belief systems related to alcohol consumption like drinking is normal, drinking doesn’t do any kind of damage, drinking is required for parties and to enjoy. There are many such beliefs/misconceptions in the society that will continue to exist and change with time. For example, party should be all about how good the food was, parties rotate around food, food is wasted instead using the next day, weddings have to be gala or it’s no celebration, one must travel to many places to experience life, one should have kids to complete their life, one should try non-vegetarian food once to explore taste and experience, pictures or likes on social media is an indicator of a good life or self-worth and list can go on and on. We all face such belief systems in various aspects of our lives day in and out, however, we need to recognize and challenge any such belief systems. And we need create our belief system based on our own values and principles.

There are plenty of studies that have found that drinking leads to anti-social behavior, abuse, violence, crime, blackouts, falling into dangerous situations, increased aggression, sexual assault, domestic violence, addiction as well as increasing the risk of self-harm and suicide. We should have complete clarity within us about the choices we make, reasons for those choices and full understanding about the consequences of those choices for us.

Saying no to drinking and going against the majority requires courage. We need to internalize our belief system such that we can defend our decision, find strength internally do what’s right for us and especially not get influenced by any of the external factors.

Recommendations for Way Forward:

So, now you have the information, think about this information, do more research, create your own belief system, decide what is right for you and what is good for you long-term.  

There are numerous famous teetotalers (nondrinkers) to take inspiration from (see lists in references below). Drinking is not a requirement to be socially successful. Just as smoking or taking drugs is not a requirement, one can choose to avoid alcohol. Also, for social situations, there are non-alcoholic beers available for people who choose not to drink.

Use your own wisdom and make your own decision keeping your goals, purpose and the aim of spiritual growth/religion in the forefront.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_and_beer 

www.barnivore.com

https://www.peta.org/living/food/everything-you-need-to-know-about-vegan-beer/ 

https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/is-wine-vegan/

https://www.alcohol.org/effects/inhibitions/

Famous Teetotalers references:

https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/celebrities-who-never-drink-alcohol

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/List_of_teetotalers.html

https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-who-don_t-drink-alcohol/celebrity-insider

Usage of Animals for Medical Research...

Q6. Does Jainism allow the usage of animals for medical research?

This is an important question that has very compelling perspectives for both sides, for and against the use of animals for medical research. Animals, from fruit fly to the mouse, are widely used in research. From Jain principles perspective, this question is straightforward, however, it can quickly become complicated in the current environment/lifestyle and also as we start hypothesizing scenarios.

Many factors come into consideration with using animals for testing/research:

• Should we use animals solely for human benefit? It is ethical/moral?
• If we don’t use animals, then how would we develop new treatments for deadly diseases? For Humans as well as for animal treatment?
• Animals and Humans don’t react the same way then is testing really useful/necessary?
• With animal testing, there is definite pain and suffering for animals, whereas there is uncertainty in benefits for humans
• What about new computer systems, mathematical model, human tissue, cell culture? What about using cadavers (human dead bodies) for research? 
• Are there other alternatives to using animals? 

These perspectives also vary with individual backgrounds, belief system and experiences in life. 

What is Jainism Perspective?

Using animals for any kind of research involves a lot of violence, exploitation and cruelty. It is a gruesome and cruel industry. Nowadays a huge number of animals are used in many types or research/testing: medicines, cosmetics, vaccines, agricultural, household materials, aeronautic, automotive, behavioral, consumer product testing etc. And these animals are subjected to horrifically painful experiments. Tens of millions of animals are used for testing every year, and it is just an approximation, since animal testing labs are not required by law to disclose the number of animals used for testing. 

From Jainism perspective, any kind of exploitation/use of animals is violence towards those animals and is not allowed. And there are no exceptions to the principles in our scripture. If any exceptions are allowed in our literature, then people will find ways to exploit it. Once there is a leeway, people get a tendency towards using animals for their benefit and it can become a problematic situation.          

What if the human race is at stake?

Amongst all the living beings, grown-up human beings possess a fully developed mind and human beings are the only ones who can do meditation and ultimately attain self-realization and liberation. So, if the entire human race is at stake then one must do whatever minimum is required, with Jain Acharaya’s permission, for the survival of the human race. We can protect ourselves but not have aggression (an example of aggression would let me destroy other before someone is going to attack me). 

What can we do at an individual level?

From a spiritual perspective, we should follow the path of minimum violence, do what is absolutely required for individual survival. We should not waste the human life, make the best of our human life and use every moment for our spiritual upliftment (i.e. reduce our Kashayas and eliminate Mithyatva).  

Now we have the information, we need to internalize the information, verify/test it with our experience, make it our own and then use it to make decisions that are right for us.  

From a practical perspective, at the individual level, we need to stop/avoid/minimize using any products that involve cruelty. We need to do the due diligence of gaining as much information as we can about everything that we use/consume and ensure that they are cruelty free. Plus, nowadays given technology/internet, we can do the required research efficiently and find cruelty free alternatives for all the products. There are cruelty free alternatives for vitamins and medicines too. 

Vaccines have been in ethical controversy for long, many vaccines also have animal by-products in them and hence it is not that straightforward. Some people take regular vaccines, and some opt for non-vaccination/religious exemption. For vaccines or any life-threatening diseases, we need to gain as much information as possible and then use our wisdom to decide at an individual level. 

In summary, we have to look at the purpose/objective from a holistic point of view and use our own wisdom to make a decision by applying Jain principles in our current environment. Please remember that under any situation, if we exploit animals there is big consequence and if we use them very minimum for our survival, the consequences to us is minimum.

References:

https://www.yourgenome.org/debates/should-animals-be-used-in-research

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruelty_Free_International