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Istopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
वासनामात्रमेवैतत्सुखं दुःखं च देहिनाम् । तथा ह्युद्वेजयन्त्येते भोगा रोगा इवापदि ॥
(6)
Pleasure and pain that appertain to the body are only notional; these are aberrations in the natural state of bliss that appertains to the soul. In an agitated state of the mind, sensual pleasures result into disquiet like that caused by an illness.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
For long, we have been led to believe that we are the enjoyers of worldly pleasures and pains. We do our utmost to attract pleasures and repel pains. Our passionate thought activities cause bondage of karmas, good or bad, virtuous or wicked. Merit bondage is like fetters made of gold and demerit bondage is like fetters made of iron. On account of our desires we experience happiness or misery. Our desires create in our souls a disposition favourable for the karmic molecules to settle in. Due to our ignorance, the process of passionately reacting to happiness or misery and settling in of fresh karmic molecules in our souls goes on, till snapped by self-exertion. The knowledgeable soul is aware of the fruits of karmas but does not enjoy them. A wise person, therefore, does not get particularly elated on the approach of desirable objects or circumstances and dejected when undesirable conditions supervene.
It is only from the empirical point of view (vyavahāra naya) that the soul is said to be the enjoyer of the fruits of karmas in the form of pleasure and pain; from the transcendental point of view (niscaya naya), the soul experiences only consciousness (cetanā),
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