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Immediately the element of water came and gave its nutrition, and what happened? Joy and energy sprouted forth!
Together, all had cooperated to plug the little creature back into the universe. He marveled again and again at the universal harmony which had brought the little fish back to life. He then imagined the big catch to which it had once belonged. He felt pain for those helpless fish who were victimized by the millions every year, and, at the same time, he felt a deep compassion for the fishermen who daily did their job in ignorance of life, unaware of the pain they were inflicting on the fish and were inviting upon themselves.
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As he continued his walk into Bombay, he passed by the suburb of Bandra. From the distance, he saw huge black vultures flying about. Then he heard some moans and screams which struck terror momentarily into his heart. They came from a huge building. Then he understood. This was a slaughterhouse.
So even in the land where the cow has been sacred for thousands of years, beloved for its gift of milk to the people and its help to the farmer, still it is unprotected. It is not anyone's fault; it is the result of greed for profit, gross ignorance of the preciousness of life.
He had a flash recollection of an incident with his father. Once as monks, when they were staying in a suburb of Ahmedabad called Merchant Society, his father had noticed a badly wounded donkey. Its wounds were oozing, and it seemed to be dying of thirst and hunger. He called upon some students to collect the freshly cooked rice which was meant for his own meal and to offer it to the donkey. He watched it eat the rice and felt compassion well up within him. He also asked the people to bring some oil and balm and apply it to the donkey's wounds, carefully wrapping it in a bandage.
Remembering this incident of his father, Gurudev was inspired with a new thought.
My father felt pain even for a donkey, giving his own food to help sustain it in life. It is an unbroken chain of reverence for life, a flow from the lives of the great Arihanta till now. I am
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