Jainism vs. Kipling

We Own The Sky - M83
(lyrics here)

A natural pool at the Barton Creek Greenbelt, one of the many trails in Austin.

This isn’t something I readily admit to people, but I really enjoy walking in the woods by myself. In Austin especially, there are plenty of trails and preserves that maintain the authenticity of nature, and even in my suburban neighborhood, I can find at least three trails that lead to springs and thickets. When I was younger, I was always outside, but with age came other responsibilities, and I have grown farther from nature than I was as a child. Age, along with increased duties and material concerns, has pulled us away from nature. Many people cannot hear the “voices of plants and animals” (X234) because they choose not to listen, or they have forgotten how.

In India, reverence for nature is extremely prevalent, especially with the cow, which “emerges as a symbolic focus for a body of metaphysical thought crystallizing in relatively modern times” (X272) and is somewhat a “symbol of the Mother Goddess” (X272). Eastern religions especially focus on the symbolism of animals, while most western religions rely on man or ideas to carry through their religion.

It may be a long time before I’m reading to “love” spiders, but at this point, I’m doing a good job of not killing them!

“The practice of ahimsa calls forth the greatest courage” (X231), that is, the courage to rid ourselves of the instinct kill and destroy, and to “love my enemy” (X231). Ahimsa practitioners are truly the extreme of displaying respect for nature, and while I cannot fathom how it can be done, I do admire their philosophy that every being on earth is precious. There have been times when I have failed to see “the beauty of the cow” (X258) and when I really wanted to step on an insect. There was always a discrepancy in my compassion for animals and my attempted compassion for insects—I just could not find it within myself to tolerate their existence. If I saw a bug, I had to squash it, sometimes without a second thought. Recently, I have been trying to reduce the “narrowness of sympathy” I harbor towards these creatures. Over the weekend, I saw a spider crawling up the side of my wall, and I had to repress the urge to slap it away. If I really inspected it, the thing was quite innocent and rather fascinating, especially as I watched it weaving its way down the wall. The spider remains living, and is most likely somewhere in my dorm today. I am not comfortable with this notion, but at least I know that we are able to coexist.

An example of the struggle between the city and the wild.

In the last class, Andrew brought up the point that we have created universities, cities, and infrastructures that are just as detrimental to animals and nature as our actions of eating meat is. Our “self-centered greed, aided and abetted by ingenious technologies [is] no longer properly restrained.” (X232) This is true; with the growth of technology, humans have exploded in their desires for the latest and most convenient amenities, and forget the consequences of their actions. Instead, “Wants should be reduced, desires curbed, and consumption levels kept within reasonable limits.” (X236)