Harmlessness

Not only must we be kind to those who suffer, but we must also try not to let any creature suffer through us.

Shri Krishna taught that harmlessness is the best Dharma.

What does harmlessness mean? It means that we should never hurt anything, if we can help it.

Little children very often hurt animals and other children, because they do

not stop to think. In this way they often do harm without meaning it. If a boy

is strong, he should not use his strength to hurt a little boy that is weak.

We ought to be kind to all animals because they cannot speak and tell us if we

hurt them. If we see some poor animal, a dog or a cat, near us, we must not

kick them if we want them to go away.

Neither should we let a house be beaten when he is doing his best to pull a

heavy load, nor a little donkey that often has to carry loads far too great

for its strength. We should be kind to all God's creatures and remember that they

feel pain even as we do.

Sometimes a donkey or a pony has two, or even three, of his legs tied together

to prevent him from straying. If the two forelegs are loosely tied, no pain

is given; but when they are tightly tied, as we sometimes see, or when one

hind leg is tied to the forelegs, then the poor creature is hurt, and gets no

rest, and this is cruel.

You know that if any one beats you or pinches you, you feel it. Do you know

why? It is because on your body, all over your skin, there are many little

points , the ends of tiny threads which we call nerves. When these tiny

threads are struck or hurt, they send up a message to our thinking and feeling

part, which is our brain. And our brain feels the pain, and then we say: "It

hurts me".

All animals have these points and threads, and, like us, would say if they

could: "It hurts me."

Therefore we must not beat animals, nor throw stones at them, nor kick them,

nor hurt them in any way. We may use them for our service, but we must treat

them kindly.