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still had resentment for the British in me. That was why I used to have nightmares of soldiers coming to kill me. My own animosity became personified and came back to me in the form of fearful events in which I was victimized. So I thought to myself, 'If I am here to wipe out the tears of suffering, how can I go on holding hatred inside? How do they go together? No, hatred pushes compassion out. I am a hypocrite.' So I decided not to recite the prayer until I had removed this hatred from my heart. I started working on this level. This is what I advise all of you to do.
"See that you are here to request freedom, but not with revenge. The British are suffering from greed, so we have to go on hammering on their greed with our non-cooperation and non-violence. Eventually they will come to themselves and understand that until they give us freedom, they themselves will suffer from enslavement. Be patient and work on clearing your own consciousness first. It will be of great benefit to all of you. Sooner or later human consciousness must evolve to the point of realizing non-violence. If we are not moving in that direction, then it is due to our weakness and lack of exertion. But we are each capable of it. It is imperative that we realize
it.”
The Door Opens
The five years of silence were drawing to a close. Our young muni knew of one cave-like shelter made of craggy rocks. It was called gupha and was located four miles above the town of Palitana along the slopes of Mount Satrunjaya. This was a jungle area known to be frequented by cheetahs, vipers, cobras, scorpions, bats, and many other forms of life of which human beings tend to be afraid. In fact, wild animals were so plentiful there that the former Maharaja of the state used to choose that spot for his hunting expeditions even in those days.
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