From the caves and jungles of Hindostan

FROM THE CAVES AND JUNGLES OF HINDOSTAN.

...vihâras monasteries and choose their successors from among the members of any social class. According to them, Prakrit is the only sacred language, and it is used in their sacred literature, as well as in Ceylon. Jainas and Buddhists share the same traditional chronology. They do not eat after sunset and carefully dust any spot before sitting down on it, so they do not crush even the tiniest of insects. Both systems, or rather both schools of philosophy, teach the theory of eternal, indestructible atoms, following the ancient atomistic school of Kanada. They assert that the universe never had a beginning and will never have an end.

"The world and everything in it is but an illusion, a Mâyâ," say the Vedantists, the Buddhists, and the Jainas. However, while the followers of Sankaracharya preach Parabrahm (a deity devoid of will, understanding, and action, because "It is absolute understanding, mind, and will") and Ishwara emanating from it, the Jainas and the Buddhists do not believe in a Creator of the Universe. Instead, they teach only the existence of Swabhawati, a plastic, infinite, self-created principle in Nature. Still, they firmly believe, as do all Indian sects, in the transmigration of souls. Their fear that, by killing an animal or an insect, they might accidentally destroy the life of an ancestor, develops their love and care for every living creature to an almost incredible extent.

Not only is there a hospital for sick animals in every town and village, but their priests always wear a muslin muzzle (I hope they will forgive the disrespectful expression!) to avoid destroying even the smallest microscopic creature by accidentally breathing it in. This same fear compels them to drink only filtered water. There are a few million Jainas in Gujarat, Bombay, Konkan, and other regions.

The Bombay Pinjarapâla an animal hospital or asylum occupies an entire quarter of the town, and is divided into yards, meadows, and gardens, with ponds, cages for beasts of prey, and enclosures for tame animals. This institution would have served very well as a model for Noah's Ark. In the first yard, however, we saw no animals, but instead a few hundred human skeletons—old men, women, and children. They were the surviving natives of the so-called "famine districts" who had crowded into Bombay to beg for bread. Thus, while a few yards away, the official veterinarians were busily bandaging the broken legs of jackals, pouring ointments on the backs of mangy dogs, and fitting crutches to lame storks, human beings were dying of starvation right at their elbows. Fortunately for the famine-stricken, there were fewer hungry animals than usual at that time, so the people were fed on the leftovers from the animals' meals. No doubt many of these wretched sufferers would have consented to be reincarnated instantly into the bodies of any of the animals who were ending their earthly lives so comfortably.

But even the Pinjarapâla is not without its flaws. The herbivorous "inmates," of course, could not wish for anything better; but I doubt very much whether the beasts of prey, such as tigers, hyenas, and wolves, are content with the rules and the forced diet. Jainas themselves turn with disgust even from eggs and fish, and consequently, all the animals in their care must become vegetarians. We were present when an old tiger, wounded by an English bullet, was fed. Having sniffed at a kind of rice soup offered to him, he lashed his tail and snarled, showing his yellow teeth, and turned away from the food with a weak roar. What a look he cast sideways at his keeper, who was meekly trying to persuade him to taste