How to prevent violence of farm insects in agriculture?

While carrying out farming activities, farmers have to commit the offense of violence of farm insects knowingly or unknowingly. In ploughing the land, insects ranging from very small ones to five-sensed beings like snakes happen to die. Not only that, to protect crops from crop pests, insecticidal medicines have to be sprayed on them; in that too, demerit karma of violence is bound. This is because insecticides are made with the very intent of killing insects, the buyer also purchases them with the intent of killing insects, and they are used as well with the intent of killing farm pests. Rather, farmers can try non-harmful ways to prevent violence of these agricultural pests and yet get rid of them.

Apart from this, while carrying out farming, violence toward one-sensed beings also occurs. For example, when one crop is uprooted in order to plant another, or when buds of plants have to be broken in crops like tobacco. In all these activities as well, the living beings are indirectly caused pain. Param Pujya Dadashri explains that in uprooting one plant, twenty-five percent sin is incurred, and in growing another plant, seventy-five percent merit is bound. Thereafter, the results of both sin and merit have to be experienced separately.

Regarding remedies for this violence, Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan explains that karma is bound based on what our intent is behind the action while performing it. Farmers have no option but to carry out farming; that profession cannot be changed or stopped. Therefore, in relation to profession-related violence, Param Pujya Dadashri shows a beautiful remedy of changing one’s intent.

Dadashri: Any work where you have no choice but to do it, do so with the condition that you will do pratikraman for it. You do not know how to conduct yourself in worldly interactions. ‘We’ teach you that. That way, demerit karma do not get bound anew.

By harvesting crops on a farm, demerit karma inevitably get bound. And along with them getting bound, ‘we’ give you the remedy, that repent in this way. That way, the demerit karma lessens. ‘We’ give you the remedy to wash off the demerit karma. Shouldn’t there be a remedy? As you are engaged in farming, you have to harvest and plow, so demerit karma will inevitably be bound. So many living beings end up dying in that process. Isn’t chopping sugar cane considered as demerit karma too? Those poor things are also living beings, aren’t they? But ‘we’ explain to you what to do about that, so the liability you incur is lesser and you can easily enjoy worldly pleasures [in the next life].

When creatures are killed while farming, a fault is definitely committed, isn’t it? So, those who engage in farming should pray to God daily for five to ten minutes, ‘I am asking for forgiveness for the faults that have been committed.’ ‘We’ tell those who are farmers, “Living beings are dying through the work you are doing. Do pratikraman for that in this way. I have no problem with this wrongdoing of yours. But do pratikraman for it in this way.”

First, the violence that occurs due to one’s profession should be understood. Then, its liability should be understood, and it should be firmly decided that violence has to be done helplessly, but I do not want to commit this violence. Thereafter, every time violence occurs, repentance should be done heartily.

It is not appropriate to insist on shutting down the business and incurring financial loss just because violence occurs in farming. However, if favorable circumstances arise, the profession can be changed. Even so, without changing or stopping the profession, one can prevent violence of farm insects and become free from the offense of violence merely by changing one’s intent.