________________ Discourses on Shrimad Rajchandra by Gandhiji 177 On this day as we commemorate the memory of Raichandbhai we should adopt the widest and broadest meaning of compassion by sacrificing its narrow interpretations. It is a sin to hurt any soul or to consider it an enemy. Those who wish to see General Dyer hanged to death or to throw Sir Michael O'Dwyer into a burning fire, they are neither a true Jain, nor a true Vaishnav, nor a Hindu. They are nothing. The secret of Ahimsa is to prevent one's anger, to cleanse one's soul. Who am I to judge General Dyer? I know that I am full of rage within myself, I must be murdering hundreds of people mentally in my thoughts. Who am I to judge General Dyer? I have, therefore, come to a firm decision that the real compassion is not to harm or kill even the one who hurts me with a sword. This is the secret of non-cooperation. When I speak, I have not used the word compassion. But today being the anniversary of Raichandbhai I am talking about compassion. I realise that this will result in spreading an understanding of compassion among several people. It is a greater sin to kill a snake or a tiger in the form of a man than to kill a real snake. When we kill a wild animal like a tiger, we do so out of fear, not out of wrath or anger. If there were a divine judge of our actions on this earth, and if they were to judge our sins and good deeds, they may forgive us for the act of killing the tiger. The greatest thing that I noted in the life of Raichandbhai is that once a businessman, always a businessman. But no longer can this be considered true in present times. If one were to become a true businessman, one does not have to become a very learned person. One who is not susceptible to vices, one who remains aloof from committing sins and falsehood, one who does not even think of indulging in immoral acts, one whose heart is full of compassion