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116
Conflict resolution
Kūņika is no more with us. So also have Rāvaņa, Jarāsandha and Duryodhana left this world. But what we need to examine is this - do their negative impulses of desires, wants and pride still reside within us?
A person works hard in life to gain pleasure and happiness. But when will one find that happiness? Just as an object is not possessiveness, an object is not even happiness. Happiness resides neither in a kingdom nor in wealth. These are inert. But joy is a form of consciousness; it is dynamic. An Upanișadic sage has proclaimed: Joy is Brahman.5
This joy is the central purpose of life. It is consciousness. This implies that it is not necessary to run after desires to attain happiness. It is necessary to exert control over desires.
Do not allow yourself to get entangled in the web of calculations wherein you will constantly be trapped in counting what you have attained and what is still pending. Lord Mahāvīra said:
This thing is with me and this is not with me.
He who is trapped in the whirlpool of this calculation will be drowned in its currents. The path of joy lies in contentment. You must try to find joy in whatever you have acquired until now and whatever you can acquire with your efforts and destiny. Let your desires be contained within this framework. Make a conscious attempt to stop desiring that which cannot be yours. Give up worrying about acquiring that which will be of little or no use to your life.
Lord Mahāvīra describes this principle of life as the vow of limiting desires. It demands setting a limit on endless desires. When desires are limited, needs also get limited; when needs get limited, then conflicts, tensions and contradictions in the journey of life also begin to reduce. Moving beyond conflicts leads to peace, happiness and joy. Finally, such pure joy is the ultimate truth of life.
5 6
anando brahmeti vyajānāt imam ca me atthi, imam ca natthi'
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