Bliss

Author(s): Amarmuni
Publisher: Sanmati Gyan Pith Agra

Page 34

Individual and society
Why do these differences exist? This is because of each person's individuality or personality. The personality is the foundation for a person's behaviour. If a person is an introvert, we see a sense of isolation in his personality. An extrovert mingles with everyone without remaining focussed within himself all the time but an introvert, even in a social environment, remains aloof from all. That aspect of personality which relates to social structures, which is important for social harmony, is what we term as conduct. Good and noble character is a pre-requisite if one is to lead a fruitful and happy social life. A person who is not of good character cannot belong to any group. A person's interactions with others in harmony or disharmony reflects his character and personality. Social environment is the litmus test of an individual's personality.
Acarya Sanghadāsa Gaņi is a great religious commentator of our culture. His delightful commentaries full of in-depth analysis leave us spell bound. The commentaries have an abundance of analogies on the day-to-day problems of man and on how he should deal with life's myriad situations. Let me narrate one such interesting analogy.
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There once ruled a great king who had three sons. As he became old he began to ask himself which of his three sons he would like to crown as heir-apparent to the throne. As a general rule, either the eldest offspring or the king's favourite son is crowned successor to the throne. But the old king did not approve of both these options. All three were equally dear to him and he decided to put them to test to find out who would befit the throne.
After consultation with his ministers, the king invited the three princes to the palace for a banquet. When they were seated, three platters of exotic food were placed before them. But just as they began to eat, they saw three hunting dogs approaching each of them ferociously. The first prince was terrified and thought, "Today this hungry dog is going to make a meal out of me. Is this why we were called here?" So thinking, he ran for his life, and the dog ate his meal. The second prince was courageous and