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thoughtlessness, selfishness and heartlessness, which are the greatest obstacles the soul encounters on the path of spiritual unfoldment. In the same way, the analysis of the mind of the victim discloses the presence, in addition to an intense feeling of pain, of such elements as horror, fear, hatred, resentment and despair of the worst possible type, each of which tends to produce a state of mental disquietude highly inimical to the progress of its soul. The result is that those who disregard the true teaching of religion and take to the path of himsâ are not only the enemies of their own souls, but also of those of their helpless victims.
DHARMA IN PRACTICE.
It would be interesting to work out the further and future consequences of himsa on the souls of the slayer and the victim both. Bearing in mind the fact that the future re-birth is always determined by the nature of the tendencies evolved out by the soul, it can be safely laid down that the being whose habitual mental attitude is characterised by heartlessness, selfishness and thoughtlessness must necessarily be drawn to a type of life marked by these mental traits. When we look out for the appropriate type for those who are habitually cruel, unfeeling and thoughtless, we discover it to be amongst the unthinking beasts of prey-tigers, wolves, hawks, cats, and the like- --so that the future re-birth of him who has spent his life in developing these peculiarities of disposition must necessarily be in the tribe of some wild bird or beast, the actual type depending on the degree of cruelty evolved out in each individual case. In some cases where the soul is thoroughly steeped in himsâ it directly descends into hells, as the scriptures
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