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pathy is towards those whom we consider similar or equal to ourselves. Cultivation of the feeling of fraternity is a step towards recognizing all living things as same or equal to us.
Second is the feeling of inherent happiness. This helps in winning over the feelings of envy, jealousy, etc. and promotes goodwill, admiration and respect toward others for their achievements and acquirements. This also curbs violence generated through inferiority and superiority complexes.
The feeling of competition is another of the basic attitudes of living beings; it, too, has its origin in those basic instincts of survival and procreation. While acquiring anything from nature, every living being has to face competition from others striving for the same thing. Nature tackles this problem by the process of adaptation, evolution, and elimination to maintain the balance.
Equipped with superior faculties, man has evolved a variety of methods to tackle this problem. Once again, his inventive capacity gives him an edge over other beings, and this tends to spoil him to the extent of becoming egotistic or chauvinistic. He then strives to win for the sake of sheer pleasure and not out of sheer necessity. At this point, he loses his inherent, simple, and spontaneous happiness and derives happiness or sorrow only through fulfillment or deprivation of the ego of winning. With such deep involvement in his ego, he stops caring about others. Lack of awareness of the feelings of others is conducive to unhealthy competition and violence.
With the reclaiming of that natural feeling of inherent happiness, it is possible to create awareness of the feelings of others. This in turn encourages healthy competition, leading to progress without hurting someone in the process.
AHIMSA: THE SCIENCE OF PEACE 87
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