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In the worldly life, where other factors continuously affect the individual, one has to evaluate his strength and ability to select the degree of Ahimsa he can handle. Only when one is aware and confident of his capacity can he follow the path of Ahimsa and progress to higher levels, gradually increasing his strength and ability. The Ahimsa observed by the ignorant and incapable is not truly Ahimsa, no matter what pompous names people give to it, or how they try to justify it with abstract logic. The Ahimsa of the ignorant is nothing but a religion of the weak and coward.
Ahimsa is the philosophy and religion of the strong. Only he is capable of following the Ahimsa path who has the strong desire and determination to purify his soul. This requires tremendous willpower and moral courage. Weakness or ignorance of any sort is violence in itself.
As you offer sympathy and goodwill, you attract sympathy and goodwill. Pure feelings have an inherent strength. It has been seen to develop to the extant that even wild and ferocious animals keep away from such pure people.
The effect of loving care and affection even on such lower life forms as plants becomes evident if one becomes slightly keener in watching their day-to-day growth and flowering. The growth and beauty of any plant is much more enhanced when it is handled as affectionately as we treat a human child. If it is treated harshly and negligently, its growth and blossoming is retarded.
The functioning of mental powers is still unexplored. Without going into debate about para-sciences and their validity, the power of goodwill and universal love can be observed in day-to-day life by studying lives of some prominent historical personalities. Mahavir, Buddha, Jesus Christ, AHIMSA: THE SCIENCE OF PEACE 92 For Private & Personal Use Only
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