The Sanctity of Life

The Sanctity of a life is a moral and ethical concept that holds that all life is inherently valuable and should be respected and protected even if it is a life of the lowest of low creatures.

It often implies that life is sacred, inviolable and should not be intentionally taken or harmed. This idea is central to various religious, philosophical beliefs, influencing debates on issues such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and medical ethics in humans.

Different cultures and belief systems interpret and apply the concept in diverse ways, leading to a wide range of opinions and discussion on these topics. But again, these topics are discussed only in terms of human life.

Is life precious? If yes then any harm to even the smallest creatures mean the sanctity of life is not maintained or you are not bothered about the sanctity of life.

Are we doing it? As I am penning this article thousands of people are being killed in some parts of the world as few nations are at war. Are nations at war? or people leading these nations (humans) are at war? ?because one human does not like another or one human does not respect other human’s belief system. We are not here to debate who is right or who is wrong, but one person is taking the life of another person. So where is the sanctity of life? What does United Nations (The UN) who are supposed to keep peace doing except count the dead bodies. Can they not end any war nay prevent any war between nations. What are they established for. Again, it is an institution by individuals with their own set of beliefs and values. Hey did I write values? Now these institutions do not have any values. If they had then they could have prevented the war or at least stopped them on day 1.

The United Nations (UN) was established post World War II in an attempt to maintain international peace and security and to achieve cooperation among nations on economic, social, and humanitarian problems

Whether it’s a war when one human kill another or whether it is humans killing millions of innocent and dumb creatures to satisfy their sensuous (read as gustatory) pleasures the sanctity of life is lost. Let us not to go too far to war and come back to our own daily living. Many of us wear silk clothes. Are you aware of where this silk comes from? Is it made by a human. No, it is made by the silkworms.

The silk worm makes a cocoon, stay inside the cocoon and come out later for its own safety and security. Once it grows fully, it comes out and fly away. And when it comes out the cocoon thread is broken, otherwise it is a continuous thread.

We humans want the continuous thread to weave silk clothes so that we can wear it for festivals, important dates, weddings and so on to look good and present ourselves better. Have you ever wondered what you are wearing?? It is the product of a mass murder.

What is done is people collect all the cocoons in baskets, then put it in a huge boiling drum of water and all the cocoons are dropped down into the boiling water. All the silk worms get killed. After they are dead the threads are pulled out with a spindle so that they get one continuous thread. The dead worms are just thrown away.? We cannot get silk without ‘himsa’ (violence). This is called wholesale killing. Approximately 3000 worms are killed to make one pound of silk.

So, remember this next time you wear your next silk clothes, silk saree (particularly the Kancheepuram silk sarees that many Indian women wear. Many including those who are strict vegetarians wear sarees without knowing how the silk is made or maybe they shut their eyes, ears and conscience when they wear these sarees just to look good. Even for religious ceremonies including weddings and festivals people wear silk. What is the use of chanting sacred mantras, taking a vow before the sacred fire or invoking a deity when you do not have sanctity for life by wearing a cloth derived out of killing millions of silk worms?

While I am writing this, I must also say that there are people who do not want to be part of this Himsa. They wear Ahimsa (non-violence) Silk. Surprised? What is the process behind Ahimsa Silk?

Allow the silk worms to come out of the cocoon and then they fly away. The cocoons naturally break. The tribal people collect all the broken yearn and make them weave. It is indeed a laborious job. So, one can talk about Ahimsa silk or one should talk about Ahimsa Silk.

The idea is to create an awareness in people about the Sanctity of other life. Even the smallest creature has a right to live including the silk worms. Those who are reading this this article treat this as a silent education to care for others; it could be trees, animals, plants, environment or the lowliest of all creatures.

Thanks for reading this article. Those nations and political leaders who read this article may open their eyes wide and realize the follies of war and those ordinary citizens who wear silk may choose whether to wear silk or not. You do have a choice to wear Ahimsa (non-violence) silk…Have a great day.