Literally speaking, ahimsa means nonviolence towards life but it has much higher meaning. It means that you may not offend anybody; you may not harbor uncharitable thought, even in connection with those whom you consider your enemies. To one who follows this doctrine, there are no enemies. A man who believes in the efficacy of this doctrine finds in the ultimate stage, when he is about to reach the goal, the whole world at his feet. If you express your love - ahimsa - in such a manner that it impresses itself indelibly upon your so-called enemy, he must return that love.