Reflection On Scale Of Violence For Survival Of Ones Life

This document, titled "Reflection on Scale of Violence for the Survival of One's Life" by Muni Shri Nyayavijayaji, translated by Dr. Nagin J. Shah, explores the Jain perspective on violence (himsa) and its unavoidable nature in sustaining life. The core principle of Jainism, as explained here, is to practice ahimsa (non-violence) to the greatest extent possible while acknowledging that complete abstinence from violence is impossible for survival.

The text addresses a common debate about how to measure the scale of violence:

• The Incorrect View: Some groups believe that the scale of violence is determined by the number of living beings killed. They argue that killing one large animal for flesh to feed many people is less violent than killing many plants to feed one person for a short time.
• The Jaina View: Jainism fundamentally disagrees with this numerical approach. Instead, it posits that the scale of violence is determined by the level of development or evolution of the being killed. Killing a being with a higher number of sense organs (and thus a more developed consciousness) constitutes a greater act of violence than killing many beings with fewer sense organs.

This principle explains several key Jaina practices:

• Vegetarianism: Jainas are strict vegetarians because plant beings have only one sense organ, placing them at the lowest scale of evolution. Killing these beings is considered the minimum necessary violence for sustenance. The destruction of beings with two or more sense organs is strictly forbidden.
• Compassion for Thirsty Beings: Jainas consider offering water to a thirsty man or animal an act of compassion and virtue. While this may inadvertently cause the death of numerous water-bodied beings (which have a very low scale of evolution), it is deemed a lesser violence compared to allowing a higher life form (human or animal) to die of thirst.
• Prioritizing Higher Life Forms: The text clarifies that saving animal life at the expense of human life is not acceptable within Jainism.

The document also touches upon the Jaina concept of self-sacrifice for lower life forms, citing examples of Lord Shantinatha and King Dilipa who were willing to give their lives to save a dove and a cow, respectively. This highlights the extreme commitment to non-violence even at personal cost. However, it reiterates that purposeless violence, even if minimal, such as carelessly damaging a flower petal, is strictly forbidden.

Finally, the text introduces the classification of plant beings:

• Pratyeka: These are plant beings with individual bodies.
• Sadharana: These are plant beings that exist collectively within a single, common body. Examples include bulbous roots, where infinite plant beings inhabit one plant body. These are also referred to as "anantakaya" (body inhabited by infinite beings).

The document emphasizes that the life in pratyeka plant beings is considered more developed than in sadharana plant beings. It concludes by noting that the entire universe is filled with subtle beings, including subtle sadharana plant beings (also called suksmanigoda) and subtle beings of earth, water, fire, and air. These subtle beings exhibit no apparent struggle for life. Gross sadharana plant beings are called sthula-nigoda or badara-nigoda.