________________
134
THE ART OF POSITIVE THINKING
put the address on the envelope and lifted her face in elation at having completed the task. It was only then that she saw her husband standing near her.
It happens like that quite often. The truths lie scattered all around, but man is so blurred in his vision that he sees nothing. He does not realise that the truth he is seeking, lies right in front of him.
Some men get their ears pierced. Women get ears and nose pierced. But they do not really know why. Getting the ears and the nose pierced is a common practice, but the background thereof is not known to many. The main reason behind getting women's ears and nose pierced was to control lust. So that desire might not become licentiousness. It is all very scientific. At the points where piercing is done in the ear and the nose are situated subtle glands and these glands excite desire. The piercings serve to lessen the keenness of desire so as to keep it under control. But this scientific fact was quite lost sight of and it was commonly accepted that the ears are pierced for wearing tops, the nose is pierced to wear the nose-ring. The real purpose was forgotten.
A man's ears were pierced so as to restrain the activity of the testicles and that of the intestines. That was the main reason behind the custom of ear-piercing. But this was lost sight of and many men started getting their ears pierced so that they could wear ear-rings. Now-a-days of course men generally have dispensed with earpiercing altogether.
A man follows a particular trend without understanding the reality behind it. There is a truth behind every custom and when that truth goes unperceived, the custom degenerates into a meaningless ritual.
All human beings breathe. Some take short breaths, others long. Some others' breath is even. These are three different situations. Long breath suggests one thing, short breath suggests something else, and even breathing something still different. We take breaths but we do not understand the significance thereof. So we never come to realize the truth about breathing. Breathing does not mean only sustaining life. Breath of course is life- but there is something more to it. The real significance of breath is that it serves as a means for establishing contact with both the outer and the inner world. The breath goes in, it also comes out. It is thus a part of the outer world, also a part of the inner world. Indeed, breath is probably the only thing in our make-up which is connected with both the inner and the outer world.
We want to do away with restlessness. The method thereof and the means lie before us. We need not look for these elsewhere. Let us learn the right technique of breathing. As we proceed with
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
