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GLORY OF AHIMSA
113 forming the Pratikraman at night with my students, we used to see, not rarely, about five to six scorpions appearing at the same time. Without attempting any violent action. the students used to catch them carefully, carry them away, and deposit them at some distant place. The same happened to snakes. By means of a pair of wooden tongs, they were carried away into the distant jungle. This was the only hardship they were made to undergo. The result is that to-day, scorpions and snakes are scarcely ever to be seen here. And the few scorpions who do appear seem to have become quite good friends with the boys, who catch them with their mere hands. Whereas in the town itself, the mischief played by snakes and scorpions has not diminished to-day. The reason is that, except Jains and few other people, scarcely anybody takes the trouble to spare their lives, so that the produce of these creatures has increased so much the more.
It is not difficult to infer from what I said that it is quite erroneous to believe that, by destroying individuals, the species of the respective creatures must become extirpated. But that just on the contrary, the more species is being persecuted, the more it appears to increase.
That is why mankind should strictly abstain from any kind of violence whatsoever, whether towards wild beasts or any other species of living beings.
GLORY OF AHIMSA.
A Lecture. (From a Correspondent). Ootacamund, May. 27. n N the occasion of the anniversary of Sri Narayanaguruswami
celebrated yesterday at the central maidan at Ootacamund, Srijut C. S. Mallinathji, the Secretary of the South Indian Humanitaran League, Madras, delivered a very learned and interesting lecture on "The Glory of Ahimsa." The following is a brief summary of the lecture :
Ahimsa means the absence of Himsa or injury. Hurting any
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Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
