1. Holistic Jain Spirituality: Comprehensive Approach to Ahimsa, Diet, Health, and Environment
Pravin K. Shah
JAINA Education Committee
509 Carriage Woods Circle
Cary NC
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2. Holistic Approach to Jain Spirituality
Holistic (Comprehensive) Approach to Spirituality
Comprehensive means analyzing the whole system of Jain beliefs and practices with respect to Ahimsa, Compassion, Diet, Penance, Health and Environment rather than simply emphasizing some of its individual components.
Ahimsa and Compassion
Diet, Health, and Environment
Penances - 6 External Penances and their relationship with spirituality (6 Internal Penances)

3. Samvar – Right Conduct or Practices
Ahimsa and Compassion
Guide Line of Practicing of Ahimsa for Laypeople
Nonviolence is the highest principle of Jain Religion
However, life can not exist without violence
Hence, for our existence (food and shelter) we must follow the path of minimum violence

4. Basic Jain Principle for Minimum Violence
The degree Violence inflicted is proportional to the number of senses a living being possesses….
Violence to a living being which has more senses (Five, Four, Three, etc.. in these order) is more sinful act than thousands of One Sense living beings.
Violence to a living being which has more senses also creates a greater impact on the Environment
Order of Violence: Human (Self and Other), Animal, Insects, Bacteria (two senses), One sense beings (Vegetables, Water, Air, Earth, and Fire)
Since life can survive by consuming one sense beings, Jainism believes in Vegetarianism even though Vegetables have innumerable/infinite living beings which are killed for our survival (humans need food and shelter for survival).

5. Jain Diet – Follow the Path of Minimum Violence (Samvar)
Order of Degree of Violence (highest to lowest)
Violence or Exploitation of Human Beings (1st order Sin) - food, clothes, and shelters prepared by child labor, or by exploiting other human beings
Violence to five sensed Animals (2nd order Sin) - food prepared by exploiting and killing animals:
Meat, Milk, Cheese, Butter, Sweets, Ice-creams, Fish, Chicken, Eggs etc..
Violence to four and three sensed movable beings such as flies, bees, insects (3rd order Sin)

6. Jain Diet – Follow the Path of Minimum Violence (Samvar)
Order of Degree of Violence (highest to lowest)
Violence to two sensed beings such as Bacteria etc.. (5th order Sin)
Violence to One Sensed Beings (minimum violence 6th order Sin)
Water, fire, air, earth, and pratyek vegetables have innumerable souls
Root vegetables have infinite souls
Usage of One Sensed Beings should be minimum for Healthy Survival

7. Holistic Jain Diet - Food Criteria
Jain Food must be conducive to the Ahimsa, Environment, Health and Spiritual upliftment.
One should not consume any food that can create the violence (Kashaya – Anger, Ego, Deceit, and Greed) within or degrades awareness (Drugs and Liquor)
One should not eat any food that involves violence to Movable beings (Human, Animals, Birds, Insects etc..)
Not to Consume Anishta (no nutrition) Food
Food which have no or very minimum nutrition value (junk food, deep fried food, Stale food, liquor).
Not to Consume Anupsevya (not a food) Food
Not a Food (Drugs, Tobaccos, etc..)
Hence Eat only healthy strict Vegetarian (Vegan) Food.

8. Holistic Jain Diet Criteria
Consume Only “Healthy Vegan Food”
Food should be obtained with Minimum Destruction of Environment
Consume Minimum for Healthy Survival. Over eating and Waste is Violence
Eat little less than your hunger and early in the day for good Health and for proper practice of Meditation.

9. Violence to Humans Two Categories of Violence to Humans
Violence to Oneself – (Highest Sinful act)
From spiritual point of view, consuming food that degrades our awareness and health (junk food, drugs, liquor, opium, Snuff, Drugs…)
Violence to other Human Beings – (2nd highest Sin)
From Ahimsa point of view, using food, clothes, and shelters prepared by child labor, or by exploiting other human beings

10. Food Related to Animal Cruelty
Meat, Chicken, Fish, Eggs
Dairy Products (highest cruelty to cows in commercial dairy)
Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, Butter, Ice-cream, Ghee, Sweets
Eggs – Fertilized or Non-fertilized (highest cruelty to birds in factory farming)
Honey (Bees are produced and raised)
Jello made from fish Gelatin
Varakh (Silver Foil) made using cow’s intestine.

11. Cruelty to Animals American Culture (Psychology)
“Most people care about animals and do not want to see them harmed, but engage in a diet that requires them to be killed or suffer”
Classification of Animals –
Pets, Wild Animals, and Farm Animals
Treatment of farm animals can not be applied toward pets
One can not crammed dogs in a cage similar to chicken, which deprives fresh air, sunlight, and movement.
America - Dogs are Pet, Cows are Farm Animals
Other culture - Dogs for food, Cows are sacred
We have become so accustomed to (and often attached to) our forms of exploitation, often intertwining them deeply into our culture, religion, and way of life.

12. Cruelty in Dairy Industries
Universal Law of Mother Nature
No mother (cow and human) produces milk unless she delivers a baby first.
After the birth of a calf, the cow starts to produce milk only to feed her calf. She also produces just enough milk that is needed for her calf under natural healthy environment (same as human).
The cow slowly stops producing milk after her calf reaches a weaning age (same as human).
Nature has not made any provision for mother cows to produce more milk than the need of their calves under natural healthy environment.
Conclusion
Any drop of milk that we drink or we use in dairy products is considered stolen from the mother cow that was meant for her baby calf under normal healthy environment. This is the Most Cruel Act.

13. Cruelty to Animals
Statistics
Animals Killed per Day in USA
Cattle - 130,000
Calves - 7,000
Hogs - 360,000
Chickens - 24,000,000

14. Cruelty in Dairy Industry
Cows are kept pregnant continually
Slaughtering 70% to 80% of baby calves slaughtered within six months by the Veal industry or within five years by the beef industry
Slaughtering the mother cow after five years of their fertile life while the life expectancy is about 20 years
Everyday, hormones or drugs are injected to increase the milk yield.

15. Impact on Environment Greenhouse effect
World's 1.3 billion cows annually produce 100 million tons of methane a powerful greenhouse gas which traps 25 times as much solar heat as CO2
Water Consumption
Livestock (Cattle, Calves, Hogs, Pigs) production accounts for more than half of all the water consumed in USA.

16. Impact on Environment Land Usage
A third of the surface of North America is devoted to grazing
Half of American croplands grow livestock feed for meat and dairy products
220 million acres of land in the USA have been deforested for livestock production
25 million acres in Brazil, and half the forests in Central America

17. Impact on Environment (continued)
To produce 1 lb. of Meat, an average of 40 lbs. of vegetation is used.
This calculation takes into consideration, the land clearing, as well as food for the live-stock until slaughter – Food cattle are generally slaughtered prior to 2-years-old Dairy cattle may live 4 years before being turned into burgers.
To produce 1 lb. of Meat, an average of 2500 gallons of water is used.
1 lb. of wheat requires 108 gallons of water 1 lb. of rice needs 229 gallons of water 1 lb. of potatoes require just 60 gallons of water
*Source: USDA

18. Impact on Environment (continued)
Waste
Waste released in the Environment by American Meat and Dairy Industry:
230,000 pounds per second, polluting our land, air and water systems.
*Source: USDA

19. Impact on Health Impact on Health – Meat and Dairy Products
High Cholesterol
High Saturated Fats
High incidence of Prostate Cancer
Calcium Deficiency (recent study)
Less Hygienic

20. Cruelty in Egg Production
Poultry Farms –
Hens / Chicken are considered Egg producing Machines
Confined to Narrow Space
Attack One Another
De-beaked
Food Given
Bone meal, Blood meal, Excreta food, Meat meal, Fish meal, Grain
Unfertilized Egg
It is the Result of Biological Cycle of a Hen but they go through the same cruelty
Usage of Byproducts
Cosmetics, Cakes, Cookies, Candies, Wine "clearing" agent, Shampoos, Skin Care Products

21. Cruelty in Varakh (Silver Foil) Production
Manufactured using Cow's Intestine (Ox-gut) obtained from slaughterhouses
Thin strips of Silver placed between intestine and manually hammered to create Silver Foil.
Used to decorate sweets, betel nut, paan, Temple idols etc..
Annually 255,000 Kgms used ($40 Million)

22. Jainism in Action – Eco friendly Religion
Caring for the Earth and Environment is the way of Life for the Jain Community by following the two key principles of Jainism in every day life
Ahimsä
Be Compassionate including to ourselves
Minimize injury to all forms of life including Air, Water, Earth, Plants and Animals
Be Strict Vegetarian / Vegan and avoid the use of complete Animal based products
Non-possessiveness / Self-restraint
Reduce our needs and wants as far as possible
Reuse / Recycle products, Eliminate Waste
Share Resources

23. Nirjarä – Jain Penance
Nirjarä is the process of exhaustion of karma already acquired
The karma exhaust themselves by producing the results (creating environment) when it is time for them to do so (known as Akam Nirjara).
However at that time, new karma begin to pour in.
Hence it becomes difficult to be free of Karma.
Therefore, one should destroy the Karma before they produce the result. This is real Nirjarä (known as Sakam Nirjara)

24. Nirjarä – Jain Penance Nirjarä is done by rigorous penance
Six External Penance:
Relates to Physical Body (Food and Exercise)
Pre-requisite to prepare our mind for Internal Penance which is true Nirjarä
Six Internal Penance:
Relates to spiritual improvement of Thought Process (meditation) – It is a real cause of liberation
Real Nirjarä removes/reduces Ghati Karma (Mohaniya Karma) before its Maturity

25. Nirjarä – Penance : External Penance
Anasan
Complete abstinence from eating and drinking
Alpähära or Unodari
Reduce the quantity of food one normally eats
Ichhänirodha or Vrittisamkshepa
Control of desire for food and material things
Rasatyäg
Give up stimulating or tasty food
honey, alcohol, butter, milk, tea, sweets, juices, fried foods, soft drinks, etc.
First 4 External Nirjarä relates to healthy diet

26. Nirjarä – Penance : External Penance
Sanlinatä (Vivikta_shaiyashan)
Stay in a lonely places free from all disturbances. Withdrawal of senses from external comfort.
Käya Klesha
Tolerating physical pain voluntarily
Last two External Nirjarä relate to Healthy Body.
Healthy diet and healthy body are requirements for Real or Sakam Nirjara

27. Nirjarä – Penance : Internal Penance
Präyashchitta
Repentance for Bad Deeds with firm determination - not to do it again
Vinay
Humility and proper behavior towards all living beings
Vaiyävruttya or Vaiyävachcha
Rendering Selfless service to needy and sufferings
Swädhyäy
Study or Understanding of self (religious literature)

28. Nirjarä – Penance : Internal Penance
Dhyäna
Contemplation and Meditation on soul’s true nature
Käyotsarga or Vyutsarga
This is the ultimate internal austerity, where the activities of the body, speech, and mind are withdrawn and a person exist with complete awareness and bliss

29. The Book of Compassion: List of Articles
The Book has the following Articles:
My Visit to A Dairy Farm
Dairy Cows - Life, Usage, and Sufferings (New York Times)
Recycling of Slaughterhouse Waste (Rendering Plants)
Milk - Its Impact on Health, Cruelty, and Pollution
Is Nothing Sacred? - Cruelty towards India's Holy Animals
Vegetarianism - A Compassionate Approach to Life

30. The Book of Compassion: List of Articles
Varakh (Silver Foil)
Facts about Eggs
Story of Silk
Story of Pearls
The Myth about Milk
Puppy Mills: Breeding Ills
Alternatives to Animal Abuse
How our Diet affects the Environment
Note – All articles are available on Jain eLibrary Website