________________
THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
35.1
Sat-Chit-Ananda state is within us, and it is our own look-out whether we bury it deeper and deeper within us by our ignorance and vicious living, or, by chiselling off all impurities, like a sculptor, bring the hidden treasure into view.
The only way, then, of securing freedom and happiness is the renunciation of the objects of desire, which produce delusion and tighten the bonds. The Vedantic simile of a dream, which is invaluable as a means for engendering the spirit of vairâgya in the soul, might be availed of here for the purpose, though not quite appropriate otherwise. For just as in the state of dreaming we perform action in imagination, so might we be said to be dreaming now and acting in a huge dream. While dreaming, do we not perceive the objects created by our mind as if they had the same reality as ourselves ? *Do we not associate with our dream-phantoms, as if they were real beings ? Aye, we treat them as real existent beings, and eat and drink and make merry with them! We fall in love with them, just as we do on this plane; and feel grief, and break our hearts when we find the course of true love not running smooth even there. We experience all sorts of sensations of joy and sorrow in the dream-land just as we do here. Sometimes the sensations are frightful : we fear, as we do on this material plane, run for our lives, hide ourselves from our enemies, and beg for mercy when unearthed and dragged out of the place of hiding. At times we feel the hand of the assassin rise ; we see the gleam of his dagger. Presently, it comes in contact with the skin, its sharp edge penetrating deep into the
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org