z:\ ambedkar\vol 011\vol11 02.indd MK SJ+YS 4 10 2013/YS 18 11 2013 12
12 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
- His father and his mother did not like his partiality for meditation. They thought it was so contrary to the life of a Kshatriya.
I
Siddharth believed that meditation on right subjects led to development of the spirit of universal love. He justified himself by saying : “When we think of living things, we begin with distinction and discrimination. We separate friends from enemies, we separate animals we rear from human beings. We love friends and domesticated animals and we hate enemies and wild animals.”
“This dividing line we must overcome and this we can do when we in our contemplation rise above the limitations of practical life.” Such was his reasoning.
His childhood was marked by the presence of supreme sense of compassion.
Once he went to his father’s farm. During recess he was resting under a tree enjoying the peace and beauty of nature. While so seated a bird fell from the sky just in front of him.
The bird had been shot at by an arrow which had pierced its body and was fluttering about in great agony.
Siddharth rushed to the help of the bird. He removed the arrow, dressed its wound and gave it water to drink. He picked up the bird, came to the place where he was seated and wrapped up the bird in his upper garment and held it next to his chest to give it warmth:
Siddharth was wondering who could have shot this innocent bird. Before long there came his cousin Devadatta armed with all the implements of shooting. He told Siddharth that he had shot a bird flying in the sky, the bird was wounded but it flew some distance and fell somewhere there, and asked him if he had seen it.
Siddharth replied in the affirmative and showed him the bird which had by that time completely recovered.
Devadatta demanded that the bird be handed