Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 2.djvu/130

 the heroism of a striking, glorious moment; there is also the heroism of sustained daily life. It is this latter heroism, connected with the routine-round of duties, that is open to you all and is expected of you all. Among the Jains, there is a restriction that no man should kill a living being or see life killed. So that one may observe some Jains constantly waving their uttareeyams (upper cloths) before their mouths and noses, that little insects in the air might not get in and be killed. Others actually sweep the path before them so that they might not trample down any ants or other small creatures while walking. Others, again, actually lie down on a bed full of bugs so that those little things may receive their share of nourishment. Some of these acts and attitudes are, no doubt, excesses. But is there not a touch—a mark—of heroism in them? Likewise, there is a silent heroism that we are all capable of and that we are expect- ed to disclose in what apparently are mere trifles. In systematic self-control in the