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the mouse; when the dog attacks the cat the saviour saves the cat. Thus, the saviour is guided by the feeling of universal love and not by attachment or aversion for the mouse or the cat or the dog. He wishes well by the victim and also by the attacker and has no intention of harming anyone at all. To prevent someone from the acts of violence, telling lies, stealing, etc., is not harming him but benefiting him also. Therefore the act of saving is universally beneficial and therefore, nonviolence. To consider it as an act of violence is a grave error.
Those who believe that to save someone from being killed or pain by being merciful towards it causes attachment and aversion and is, therefore, sin and not dharma must be asked a simple question as to whether they would consider any help rendered to them when their own life was in danger as good or bad, as sin or dharma. If he thinks it is bad then he should refuse to accept any help and request anyone that comes to help that he should not incur sin by saving him. However, nowhere has such a thing been seen or heard. Everyone considers and accepts the act of saving himself from any danger or pain as good only. From this it is proved that the act of saving any creature from danger or pain is good, to help it in the time of need is good. It is so because the true values are eternal, general, all time, everywhere applicable and public. These can be applied on everyone everywhere and every time. In such acts there is no discrimination of other's and ours. Where there is such discrimination, there is selfishness and not truth. To consider the help in danger and need to the self as good and to consider the same help to the other as bad is neither logical nor proper, nor truth, nor principled. It is merely erroneous and misleading.
Those who consider the saving of some creature as a sin, it would be sufficient to say that the result of the act of saving a creature is its living. According to their belief this living is the result of a sinful act. Therefore, according to the same principle, their own living should also be the result of some sinful act. What could be more ridiculous? To consider saving a creature from danger, to act to mitigate someone's pain and misery as sin and abandonable, is against all principles of
Positive Non-Violence
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