________________
286
THE WAY OF LIFE
There is happiness in having children but if your children happen to be haughty, immoral and unintelligent then that happiness is condemnable. If your children happen to be intelligent, noble, polite and sensible then you get commendable happiness from them. The people of the world will praise you thus, "He is a fortunate man; he is a happy man. He has such excellent children". If your children are immoral, people will say, "How wicked these children are and how ignoble !" The happiness that is praised by people is commendable and the happiness that is blamed by people is condemnable.
Not only you; but all people desire commendable happiness but all do not know the method of attaining commendable happiness. Even of those who know the methods, very few use them. At present, I think that much of your happiness is condemnable. Probably, in your poorvajanma as householders you did not practise the ordinary principles of the grihasthadharma. If you had practised them in your previous life, you would have attained commendable happiness in this life.
From the Audience: We are not practising those ordinary principles even in our present life.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
Maharajashri
In that case, what kind of happiness are you going to get in your next life? Have you understood it? By observing the special principles like worshipping the Paramatma you will attain punyakarma and when it emerges to the surface in your next life, you may get some happiness but that happiness will be commendable when you have practised the ordinary principles of the grihasthadharma.
We need not think of the man who observes neither the special principles nor the ordinary principles. Such a man will not get any happiness. If a man leads his life committing only sins without observing either the ordinary principles or the special principles, he will only get misery. We are now speaking of those people who do not observe the ordinary principles but who observe the special principles.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org