As to man's destiny, it is not only his own action but also the thought of another that can change a man's life. I have seen for instance many cases where a loving mother was not pleased with her growing child who did not satisfy her. This will always make it suffer in some way or another. The child may become a qualified man, a capable man, but if he has not satisfied his mother that is quite enough for him to have bad luck. A keen study will make one understand how these things work; but from childhood we have been so absorbed in our own life and our own interests that we do not think very much about how we are affected by the thought and feeling of those around us.
A rich man, if he is displeased with his servant and speaks roughly to him or insults him, may not realize it at the time, but perhaps the feeling of this servant who is dependent on him and who is bound to that particular place is hurt. And when this rich man goes to his office, to his affairs, he may get back that pinprick which he gave. He does not know it; he believes he has given a pinprick to a servant who could not return it; but someone else returns it without his realizing that this is the answer to what he has done. The more we think about this the more we shall understand how God works through all beings, even through animals and birds. And then when we are able to believe this, we cannot help believing what Buddha has said: that the essence of religion is harmlessness. Harmlessness does not only mean to refrain from killing. Many are killed without killing; in order to kill a person one does not need to murder him. A glance, a word, a thought can kill a person and that is worse than death.
It is this experience that I had in mind when I said in the Gayan, 'My bare feet! Step gently on life's path, lest the thorns lying on the way should murmur at being trampled upon by you.'
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