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 60

The flame of avarice
45
is common knowledge that water and not blood washes away bloody stains. But this knowledge has not seeped into man's actions and therefore he continues to try washing away blood with blood.
The vision of life is lost. Loot, conflict, agitation and war are the order of the day. The cause of all this is the plague of possessiveness which has afflicted both rich and poor countries alike. All wars today are a result of restlessness born from the urge to possess more and more. In earlier times, battles were fought for fame or marriage alliances. But not anymore. Today wars are neither fought for prestige nor are they the means to expand empires. The aim of modern day war is to create markets, so that super powers of the world may exert total control over third world nations thereby depriving them of their economic independence.
Caught in this web of possessiveness, a nation is not just bent upon taking advantage of another, but even within itself, it sets the stage for rivalry among different sections of society. Thus the endless conflict between labourers and employers, between the haves and the have-nots is becoming more vicious with each passing day.
What is the reason for such bitter class conflicts? It is the avarice for possessions that makes one class fill up its coffers at the expense of another, ignoring the needs of those less fortunate. Where is the end to all this?
Until the tendency to possess is not diminished, the strife in today's world will not end. Unless every nation adopts the policy of parigraha parimāņa, this gory game will continue. Lord Mahāvīra and many other great seers have rightly said that possessiveness is the root cause of strife, and non-possessiveness the path of peace. The venerable Mahāvīra taught:
Anger spoils good relations, pride destroys humility, deceit destroys amity and greed destroys everything. ?
When anger enters, love exits, eliminating all affection in koho piim paņāsei, māņo viņaya nāsaņo māyā mittāņi nāsei, lobho savva viņāsaņo -- Daśvaikālika Sūtra 8. 38