Golden Steps To Salvation

Author(s): Padmasagarsuri
Publisher: Arunoday Foundation

Page 77

3.
4.
5.
63
Just as according to the creed of violence we should learn to kill and destroy, according to the creed of non-violence we should learn to die and suffer. The meaning of non-violence is universal love. We do not have any right to destroy life since we do not have the power to create it.
There is no difficulty in understanding the meaning of ahimsa from these statements of Gandhiji based on his own experience. The action that is performed by a lover of non-violence influences even animals. This point is illustrated by this example published in a newspaper. On the way from Dahod to Rathalam there is a station called Alavad. There, the signal-man went to give the signal to the train that was about to arrive. The train was coming at a great speed. On the same line there was a mail train. If the line of the arriving train was not changed it would crash against the mail train and there was the possibility of thousands of men, women and ildren dying on account of that accident if it occurred.
The signal-man went to the signalling place at the right time but at the place where he had to stand to give the signal there was a cobra with its hood spread out. What could he do? And there was no time to turn away the cobra by some means. Even a moment's delay would cause the death of thousands of people. He decided that he should save the lives of thousands of passengers even if he should die for it. He thought that there could be no greater benevolence than this. Standing on the cobra, he gave the signal. By this means the line changed. The train rolled on the other line and halted. The lives of all the passengers weres saved.
The Cobra did not bite the leg of the signal-man who had stood on it impelled by his love of ahimsa. Without causing any danger to the man bearing with the pressure of his feet for sometime the cobra went away after it was free. In this manner he obtained the fruit of his non-violence at once. The incident was published in all newspapers and he was praised. He became famous and that is another matter.