Why is there such a great emphasis on protecting life forms from fear?
Questioner: Then why has such great importance been placed on abhaydaan in the Jain religion?
Dadashri: Everyone has given importance to abhaydaan. Abhaydaan is the main thing. Abhaydaan means that if birds are perched over here, then realizing that they would fly away, you carefully walk around to the other side. If you are walking along the path at midnight and two dogs are asleep, then realizing that they will be startled and will wake up by the sound of your shoes, you remove your shoes and quietly make your way home. If someone gets scared because of you, how can that be considered humane? Even the dogs out there should not be startled by you. If you walk along clicking your shoes and the dog raises its ears and gets up, then you should realize, ‘Oh, I lapsed in giving abhaydaan!’ Abhaydaan means that no living being becomes afraid of you. Have you seen a person imbibing abhaydaan anywhere? Abhaydaan is the ultimate donation.
Even when I was twenty-two years old, I would not let the dogs get startled. ‘We’ are constantly giving abhaydaan, there is nothing else that ‘we’ give. If anyone were to learn to give abhaydaan the way ‘we’ do, then he would attain salvation! The practice of ‘donating’ fear is something people already have from before, isn’t it? One will say, “I will sort you out.” So is that considered abhaydaan or is that considered the ‘donation’ of fear?
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