________________
88
THE WAY OF LIFE
Kama and in consequence, he will suffer a loss in these two aspects of his life. In the same manner, a man who is deeply immersed in the pursuit of the Kamapurushartha will neglect the Arthapurushartha; and Dharmapurushartha; and these two are affected in consequence. The man who is deeply immersed in the Dharmapurushartha will neglect the Arthapurushartha and Kamapurushartha and in consequence he will suffer a loss in these two aspects of his life. By this kind of pursuit of any one of these three objectives to the detriment of the other two, man causes loss and suffering to himself and to others and even in his family life, there will arise problems and suffering.
MONEY IS EVERYTHING
There was a doctor in Bombay. He used to say outwardly, "I am rendering service to people", but his real objective was to acquire wealth and prosperity. Every day he arose at six and went to his clinic and in the evenings, he would return home at about ten. He had four children. He could see and talk to his children only on sundays because on sundays, he did not go to the clinic; yet, even on sundays patients used to come to his house. The doctor could not be with his children even on sundays. Even his wife's dissatisfaction continued to increase. He could not please his wife also by being with her and talking to her for a few minutues. Can domestic affairs go on with mere money? The doctor used to give his wife enough money for domestic expenses but he had no time to hear what she had to say about their domestic affairs. He had only one objective or obsession and that was to earn money and to heap it as high as the Himalayas.
The doctor never used to think of Dharma. He did not go to the temple and he did not go to the Upashraya to hear the discourses of the Gurumaharaj. He had no time to perform such spiritual austerities as the Samayik and the Pratikraman. We carried out our chaturmas in that neighbourhood. He came to see us only on the Samvatsari day during the Paryushan festival. His father introduced him to us.
The doctor could not concentrate his mind on spiritual acti
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org