Jain vegetarian diet is practiced by the followers of Jain culture and philosophy. It is considered to be one of the most rigorous form of spiritually-motivated diet on the Indian subcontinent and beyond. The Jain cuisine is completely vegetarian and it also excludes onions and garlic, similar to the shojin-ryori cuisine of Japan. The strictest forms of Jain diet is practiced by the monastic ascetics, it may additionally exclude potatoes and other root vegetables.[1][2] This food is called in Sanskrit a 'sattvic' food, which means that it is based on the qualities of goodness, lightness and happiness. On the other hand, onions and garlic are regarded to be 'tamasic', as they tend to have a quality of darkness, lethargy and indeed a putrid smell.
Practice[edit]
For Jains, lacto-vegetarianism (generally known simply as vegetarianism in India) is mandatory. Food which contains even small particles of the bodies of dead animals or eggs is absolutely unacceptable.[8] Some Jain scholars and activists support veganism, as the production of dairy products is perceived to involve violence against cows.
Jains go out of their way so as not to hurt even small insects and other tiny animals,[9] because they believe that harm caused by carelessness is as reprehensible as harm caused by deliberate action.[10] Hence they take great pains to make sure that no minuscule animals are injured by the preparation of their meals and in the process of eating and drinking.[11]
Traditionally Jains have been prohibited from drinking unfiltered water. In the past, when stepwells were used for the water source, the cloth used for filtering used to be reversed and some filtered water was poured over it to return the organisms to the original body of water. This practice of jivani or bilchavani is no longer possible because of the use of pipes for water supply. Modern Jains may also filter tap water in the traditional fashion and a few continue to follow the filtering process even with commercial mineral or bottled drinking water.
Jains make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as possible. Jains only accept such violence inasmuch as it is indispensable for human survival, and there are special instructions for preventing unnecessary violence against plants.[12] Strict Jains don’t eat root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers, because such root vegetables are considered to be 'ananthkay'. 'Ananthkay' means one body, but containing countless lives. A regular vegetable such as cabbage has number of leaves and lives as could be counted by a layman. However, a root vegetable such as potato, though from the looks of it is one article, is said to contain multiple lives ('ekindriya') in it. Also, tiny life forms are injured when the plant is pulled up and because the bulb is seen as a living being, as it is able to sprout.[13] Also, consumption of most root vegetables involves uprooting and killing the entire plant. Whereas consumption of most terrestrial vegetables doesn't kill the plant (it lives on after plucking the vegetables or it was seasonally supposed to wither away anyway).
Mushrooms, Fungus and Yeasts are forbidden because they are parasites, grow in non-hygienic environments and may harbour other life forms. Alfalfa is the only known plantae that contains vitamin D2 source they can use or make vitamin D2 supplements from.
Honey is forbidden, as its collection would amount to violence against the bees.[14]
Food items that have started to decay are prohibited.
Traditionally cooking or eating at night was discouraged because insects are attracted to the lamps or fire at night. Strict Jains take the anastamita or anthai vow of not eating after sunset.
Strict Jains do not consume food which has been stored overnight, as it possesses a higher concentration of micro-organisms (for example, bacteria, yeast etc.) as compared to food prepared and consumed the same day. Hence, they do not consume yogurt or dhokla & idli batter unless they've been freshly set on the same day.
Jains do not consume fermented foods (beer, wine and other alcohols) to avoid killing of a large number of microorganisms associated with the fermenting process.
