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“There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no cause that I am prepared to kill for;" “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind;” “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated;” and “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
SHRIMAD RAJCHANDRA (or RAICHAND) & CONCERN FOR THE WELFARE OF OTHERS IN HIS DIAMOND BUSINESS
As mentioned earlier, Shrimad Rajchandra was a mentor, a kind of spiritual guru, and a confidante to Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi-ji and Rajchandra had many long correspondences on matters of spirituality. Rajchandra and his family were diamond traders. Once, Rajchandra entered into a major contract for a future time (within 6 months) with another diamond dealer for an agreed upon price for delivery of the diamonds at a future date. The seller was betting that during the upcoming six months, the price of diamonds would go down; he intended to buy first at the lower price, then make the delivery and thus would make a good profit. Similarly, Rajchandra also bet that the price would go up in next six months, and he—by paying today's low price, would make good money down the road. The seller was betting on the price going down and Rajchandra on going up in six months. This is called future commodity trading. Both Rajchandra and the seller prepared a document (an IOU) for this contract. During the next six months, Rajchandra's predictions came true and the price of diamonds shot up significantly. On the agreed upon date of delivery, Rajchandra went to the shop of the seller and asked for the delivery of the diamonds. Rajchandra knew very well in his heart that if the seller made the delivery, he (the seller) would incur a
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An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
