18
Non-Violence
not deliberately pick leaves from trees unnecessarily. You should
not indulge yourself in meaningless things. If you need to break a
twig, you must ask the tree for its permission.
Questioner: Is there not a difference between walking on
grass and walking on a footpath?
Dadashri: Yes there is, but the difference is insignificant.
People have been misled into making an issue out of small things
while the important points have been overlooked altogether. You
commit greater violence when you become annoyed and irritated
with people because it hurts them.
The Role of Karma in Farming
Questioner: Does one bind sin (demerit karma) in farming?
Dadashri: There is sin everywhere. There is sin in farming
and also in the business of selling grains. There are so many tiny
organisms involved in this. When people sell grain they are also
selling the insects in the grain. Money is taken for the insects. The
insects are eaten with the grain.
Questioner: But is it a sin when a farmer nurtures one
plant and kills the surrounding weeds?
Dadashri: Yes, indeed it is!
Questioner: Then how can he farm?
Dadashri: Merit karma and demerit karma are intrinsic in
all work. The farmer kills some plants while he nurtures others.
He will bind merit karma for the ones he nurtures and sin (demerit
karma) for the ones he kills. There is twenty-five percent sin and
seventy-five percent merit karma, so there is a fifty percent profit.
Questioner: So does the sin get deducted from the merit
karma or vice-versa?
Dadashri: No, it does not work like that. Both the positive