Bliss

SR No.: 006592
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Amarmuni
Publisher: Sanmati Gyan Pith Agra
Publication Year: 2010
Total Pages: 186
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 12 MB

Page 151

136
The canvas of life is larger than the 'self
So, in this context, the ideal of non-possessiveness becomes an impossibility. Religious discourses that preach impractical ideals are meaningless. They serve no purpose at all.
Lord Mahavira has answered every question with the vision of many-pointedness (anekāntavāda). Regarding possessiveness, he said that material objects, and also one's body and family fall under the category of possessiveness, and yet they do not. When asked, "Is an object possessiveness?" he stated, "It is and it is not." Does family fall under the category of possessiveness? It does and it does not. Is the body in the purview of possessiveness? It is and it is not. These cannot be counted as possessiveness, because, they are but objects. Possessiveness is an impulse, an impure state of internal consciousness. It is when consciousness brands external objects with the labels of desire and attachment, with the labels of yours and mine, that they become objects of possessiveness, not otherwise.
What this implies is that possessiveness resides not in objects, but in thoughts. Here we see a clear distinction between graha and parigraha, between possessions and possessiveness. 'Graha' means to acquire an object in measured quantity and to use it appropriately. On the contrary, 'parigraha' means to acquire objects indiscreetly without making any distinction between appropriate and inappropriate. Even in the absence of an object, if an intense craving for the object exists, then it is counted as possessiveness. Therefore, Lord Mahāvīra proclaimed: Attachment is possessiveness. The aspirant who is free of attachment, is non-possessive even if he is seated on heaps of gold and silver. Non-possessiveness is detachment or indifference.
Desire is the greatest bondage of all, the utmost cause for suffering. One who defeats desire attains liberation. Freedom from desire is freedom from the world. Therefore, Mahāvīra spoke about restraint on desires and ambitions as being the first and foremost goal. There are many spiritual seekers who have such a focused consciousness that they overcome all their desires, adopt the path of restraint and renunciation, and tread