DHARMA IN PRACTICE

 

     As Mr. Warren points out (see 'Jainism' by H. Warren), if we study the state of the mind of a person engaged in the act of killing, we shall notice that he is not only indifferent to the suffering and pain he is causing to his victim for his own selfish ends --sometimes he actually delights in it --but has also no idea of the subtle forces engendered by such an act in his own system. His three characteristics, therefore, are thoughtlessness, selfishness and heartlessness, which are the greatest obstacles the soul encounters on the path of spiritual unfolding. In the same way, the analysis of the mind of the victim discloses the presence, in addition to an intense feeling of pain, of such elements as horror, fear, hatred, resentment and despair of the worst possible type, each of which tends to produce a state of mental disquietude highly inimical to the progress of its soul. The result is that those who disregard the true teaching of religion and take on the path of Hinsa are not only the enemies of their own souls, but also of those of their helpless victims.

 

     It would be interesting to work out the further and future consequences of Hinsa on the souls of the slayer and the victim both. Bearing in mind the fact that the future re-birth is always determined by the nature of the tendencies evolved out by the soul, it can be safely laid down that the being whose habitual mental attitude is characterized by heartlessness, selfishness and thoughtfulness must necessarily be drawn to a type of life marked by these mental traits. When we look out for the appropriate type for those who are habitually cruel, unfeeling and thoughtless, we discover it to be amongst the unthinking beasts of prey-- tigers, wolves, hawks, cats and the like-so that the future re-birth of him who has spent his life in developing these peculiarities of disposition must necessarily be in the tribe of some wild bird or beast, the actual type depending on the degree of cruelty evolved out in each individual case. In some cases where the soul is thoroughly steeped in Hinsa it directly descends into hells, as the scriptures show. The case with the victim of sporting lust, however, stands on a different footing, since the feelings of anger horror, pain and the like are not habitual with him. Hence its future re- birth would not necessarily be amongst the worst types of living beings, though the predominant feelings of the closing moments of life might impart their tinge to the character already formed, and bear fruit in the shape of nicha gotra and inauspicious surroundings.

 

Thus, no one who has studied the true nature of his soul and of the causes, which tend to prolong its bond would ever find fault with Ahimsa being the true path of liberation and the highest Dharma.