________________
Attachment is bondage, detach ment liberation
possessive. If you maintain a family name, then you are considered possessive as against the monk who has renounced his personal family to become part of a larger religious group. It is definitely a point to ponder upon.
So, it is noteworthy that it is not the object but the desire for the object that determines possessiveness. One may not yet have acquired a certain object, but if he is yearning for the object and constantly thinking of ways and means to acquire it, then he is caught in the web of possessiveness. He may have renounced the world, but if desire has not left his heart, he cannot be considered non-possessive, even if his external appearance may be that of a monk.
75
Once during our wanderings, we arrived at a village which had no followers of our religious sect. Therefore, finding someone to host our stay was impossible. With great difficulty, we came upon the ruins of an old Shiva temple which was already inhabited by four other travellers.
Two out of these four travellers were companions and had been travelling together. They were not present when we reached there. A short while after we had settled down, when one of them returned, he discovered that he and his companion had been robbed of their belongings. He became extremely agitated and started cursing the villagers.
When his friend returned, he sobbed uncontrollably and said, "Look at the misfortune this village has brought us. Some sinner has stolen all our belongings! Oh what will happen now?"
His friend remembered a man sitting in a corner of the temple and felt quite certain that the theft was committed by him. But he also realized that they would never be able to trace him as he was a wanderer too. He gently turned to his agitated friend and consoled him saying, “It is alright my dear friend. He has taken our belongings, but not our destiny."
"I
When I heard this conversation, I fell into deep thought. What struck me was the extremely opposite reactions of the two
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
