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Non-possessiveness - a universal framework
A lotus blooms and blossoms in the slushy pond, but is not contaminated by the slush. Similarly, to remain unaffected by the trials and tribulations of this world is the greatest achievement of life. Just as a flower without fragrance, a life which has not the fragrance of compassion cannot reach out to other lives. That life which is full of beauty, fragrance and detachment like the lotus is blessed and praiseworthy.
Much has been already said about detachment, about non-possessiveness, what it entails and how the path of nonpossessiveness should be followed. Today let us reflect on this in more detail.
The ideal of non-possessiveness is emphasized not just in Jaina thought, but by all spiritual masters and great social leaders as well. As far as values and principles are concerned, they may speak different words, but all their words point to the same value - of non-violence, of non-possessiveness, of peace, of contentment.
It is indeed heartening to see that even in these times when the focus of mankind is more on science and technology, experiments in spirituality also find a place. Otherwise there would be only one kind of experimentation - that of the material, the nuclear, the atomic. But here are two diverse streams of thought, if I may say so. While one is nuclear, the other propounds co-existence. Materialism on one hand and spiritualism on the other. Like life and death, poison and nectar, they co-exist in this large sea of humanity.
The slogan of the atomic experiment is: “I am the greatest power of the world, the undefined courage of the world. Either you bow before me or you die. He who does not have me, has no right to live in the world. Because in my absence he is not secure."
The slogan of co-existence is: “Come let us all walk together, sit together, live together and even die together. Our views are different, but not conflicting. Our bodies may be different but our minds are one. We have to live together and if need be, die together. As human beings, we can only live in co-existence; not
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