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the maze correctly without training. Pain is repulsive even at that simple primitive micro-level.
The effect of extreme pain is so deep that it causes mental trauma. This is true not only for the sufferer but also for the individual who observes. The closer, mentally or physically, the observer is to the sufferer, the deeper his trauma is. This proximity is the factor influencing the depth, clarity and effect of observation. Physical closeness enhances the physical impact and mental proximity enhances the psychological impact.
The impact of such trauma is so strong that it can influence a person's way of life and even deeply ingrained habits. This phenomenon, for example, has been successfully used to instigate family planning. When a husband is allowed to see his wife in the process of delivering a child, the effect of observing the extreme agony, of a person so close, is traumatic. It has been seen that for a considerable period this experience haunts the male, and he takes all precautions to avoid the next pregnancy. He even curbs his natural urge to satiate his sexual desires.
It is through observation of pain caused to others that we can properly understand the harm our actions impart to others. The harm, broadly speaking is of two types. One is visible, the harm of the physical world and the present moment; it is observable through physical senses. The other is the harm of the world beyond, the world of thoughts and feelings, the world of soul and the life beyond life; it is observable through feelings or sentiments.
Grosser and more direct harm can be observed in terms of resultant pain or sorrow, and so it is relatively easy to come to avoid them. On the same principle, one must be
AHIMSA: THE SCIENCE OF PEACE 85
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