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PHILOSOPHY OF SOUL
Karma and now we desire to proceed with the topic of Dharma.
While discussing about the nature of soul and karma we did discuss something about Dharma occasionally but an orderly treatment of the subject follows now. One thing we would like to make clear, that on the whole this entire series of discourses is more or less concerned with 'DHARMA', as we never deliverd speeches on any other subject except Dharma. Saintly authors of our scriptures have ordained that a monk should always speak on religion avoiding the discourses about devotees, women, countries and political matters in order that he would himself avail of self study and the others would gain religious merit.
Shri Uttaradhyayana Sutra is our sacred scripture and the same is studied for procuring religious merit for the aspirant. This series of discourses has come to being from the description of the soul wandering in this transitory state. This is not out of your notice.
Gentlemen, the dreadful dragon of materialism is trying to strangle the entire world. We do not know whether it will succeed in its mission but the situation has indeed worsened.
In olden times religious impressions were carved on the mind of the inborn child. After birth, the child was being fostered in religious atmosphere and even in advanced age academic training was mainly infused with religious spirit. Even society and state were greatly influenced by religious principles. That is why the nature of religion and its essentiality were hardly questioned. Today on the contrary children and youngsters of top ranking families have begun doubting the nature and essentiality of religion in life.
Only yesterday one highly educated youngman asked us, “Would it not do if we do not observe religious rites ?". We replied : "Blessed one, if you can do without a guide in dreadful forest while on your journey, if you can do business without money or if your body can do without food then one can do without religion or religious rites”.
Hearing these words the youth retorted: "Without a guide we would be lost in the jungle, and devoured by the beasts of prey or robbed by the robbers; without money the market would hold no
