Awakening

Author(s): Padmasagarsuri
Publisher: Arunoday Foundation

Page 27

In the modern times, man is as much cheap as machines are dear. Everywhere, material wealth is predominant. Man, instead of being master of machines, has become a slave to them. People come by their cars to listen to discourses but if their cars go out of order on somr day, they also take leave from the discourse. A car is after all a means. The listeners get glory by their heart-felt desire to hear discourses. Their cars do not bring them any glory. Those who realize this truth will attain the Purushartha of Dharma. Such people would refrain from violence as much as they can. They would regard non-violence as their highest dharma or duty. People who pursue the path of Dharma would never think of eating meat.
There are people who visit holy places; listen to discourses ; perform such rituals as Samayik (a Jain ritual) but secretly they cat meat. Among such people some begin eating meat as a matter of fashion; some eat meat to be called modern people and some eat meat to maintain friendship with meat-eaters. Some people become crazy for meat having fallen victims to the illusion that it increases their physical strength; and that it gives them longevity, but they forget that the elephant that cats only vegetarian food is many times stronger than the lion that eats flesh. A man can easily live for a hundred years by confining himself to vegeta