Special Features
A collection that's special to our readers, contributors and us especially for special news.

Inspiring Recommendations!
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
    Timeless principles for personal and professional effectiveness, focusing on character development and proactive living.

  • Atomic Habits by James Clear Atomic Habits by James Clear
    A practical guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones through small, incremental changes that lead to significant results.

  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
    Classic advice on interpersonal skills, emphasizing empathy and understanding in building relationships and influencing others.

  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
    A motivational classic outlining key principles for achieving personal success and financial independence through mindset and determination.

  • The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
    Eckhart Tolle's teachings on mindfulness, emphasizing living in the present moment to achieve spiritual enlightenment.

  • Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
    Tony Robbins' strategies for taking control of one's life, focusing on emotional mastery and personal empowerment.

  • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
    Mark Manson's counterintuitive approach to living a meaningful life by focusing on what truly matters.

  • No Excuses! by Brian Tracy No Excuses! by Brian Tracy
    Brian Tracy emphasizes the importance of self-discipline in achieving personal and professional goals through actionable strategies.

  • As a Man Thinketh by James Allen As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
    James Allen's classic essay on the power of thoughts in shaping one's character, circumstances, and destiny.

  • The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
    David Schwartz encourages readers to think positively and set high goals to achieve personal and professional success.

  • The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
    Grant Cardone emphasizes setting goals ten times higher than perceived necessary and taking ten times the action to achieve extraordinary success.

  • The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
    Robin Sharma's fable about a lawyer's journey toward spiritual enlightenment and personal fulfillment after a life crisis.

  • The Secret by Rhonda Byrne The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
    Rhonda Byrne presents the law of attraction, emphasizing positive thinking as a means to manifest desires and achieve goals.

  • The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
    Charles Duhigg explores the science behind habits, offering insights on how to change them for personal and professional improvement.

  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
    Yuval Noah Harari explores the history of humanity, examining how Homo sapiens evolved and shaped societies through culture and technology.


Ad

The logics behind

The entire country seems to be up for debate on “Meat Ban”. There are people asking me about why “Mean Ban”. Different people are giving different explanations. India is a country where hundreds of festivals and programmes are organized every year and this diversity makes it difficult for common people to know about most of the religions also.

The biggest festival in Jainism is Paryushan. It is an eight day function followed by the Samvatsari or Kshamapana Diwas. A person who follows Jain religion tries to apologise from every creature (including human beings) on this occasion for any trouble given directly or indirectly. Why? Nothing else but our own thoughts and actions bind us and we can purify our thoughts and actions to liberate ourselves and become what we are “enlightened and perfect soul”. This requires us to free ourselves from all the feelings of hatred, enmity, jealousy, or anger. To free ourselves from these feelings – we have to treat every soul with compassion and care. Non-violence is only the means for our liberation.
Compassion
In order to celebrate the festival, Jain undertake fasting and offer prayers and undertake meditations on this occasion, which is called “Samayik” which literally means to have feelings of compassion towards every creature and to concentrate on that feeling using an age old system of meditation.

Violence towards animals would not allow a Jain to nurture the feelings of compassion. There are umpteen number of stories on the practice of Non-violence in Jain literature. A few stories will clarify the point. When Neminath (cousin of Lord Krishna) saw lot of animals being killed on the occasion of his marriage – he decided to renunciate. Similarly Parshwanath saw that two snakes were being burnt by a person, because the person was trying to burn wood. Parshwanath immediately took to save those snakes.  These stories are still part of the common anecdotes that guide the behavior and attitude of a Jain person.

It is very unfortunate that the request for “Meat Ban” or “non-killing” of animals should be taken as “Imposition of Vegetarian code”. People will do what they would love to do. But being a part of pluralistic society, where different religions and rituals are accommodated and respected, it is important to at least understand the perspectives of different traditions and religions.

Those who can understand this perspective, would continue to practice non-violence in their everyday life, thoughts and actions and the festival of Paryushan and Samvatsari will give them a chance to purify themselves and refresh their commitments to the ideals of non-violence.
Let us apologise everyone on this occasion and again request everyone to feel the joy in compassion, love and care and let us try to spread our patronage of care, compassion towards every creature – as far as possible. This will return back soon in terms of greater love, compassion and care from the eco-system and we shall enjoy our existence in this universe. Compassion, care, and concern for the environment returns back in due course and will enable us to feel lighter, healthier and more content. Physical fitness is not the outcome of food alone, it is also the outcome of our contentment, compassion and feelings of love and care. Being happy and content and being full of compassion, we shall be healthier even with less of food and less of other nutrients. Let us take the plunge as we cannot get this moment again and therefore every moment should be a journey towards greater and great compassion and greater and greater initiatives towards self discovery, getting closer to what we are and attaining our true self.

Copyrights © 2024 Inspiration Unlimited eMagazine


Any facts, figures or references stated here are made by the author & don't reflect the endorsement of iU at all times unless otherwise drafted by official staff at iU. This article was first published here on 20th September 2015.
Dr. Trilok Kumar Jain
Dr. Trilok Kumar Jain is a contributing writer at Inspiration Unlimited eMagazin


advertise with Inspiration Unlimited iU eMagazine

Want to drop us a Review on Google:

Review iU on Google



Continue Reading? Here are some Latest Articles on iU



Wish to simply drop a comment / share an inspiring story / chat with us:

Whatsapp Inspiration Unlimited iU eMagazine

advertise with Inspiration Unlimited iU eMagazine