________________
Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
195
If you call a blind man Soordas (Soordas was blind), he may not feel unhappy. If somebody says to you, “You are a dishonest man. You are a thief." You will become angry. But if the same person tells you, “You must be honest and you must become rich", you will not feel unhappy though the meaning is the same.
An Emperor had a dream in which he saw all his thirty-two teeth falling. He asked an astrologer to tell him what the dream signified. The astrologer who was unwise and tactless said, “Your Highness! It signifies that all the members of your family will die before you." The Emperor was angry and unhappy to hear this. He consulted another astrologer. He said, “Your Highness, your dream is a very auspicious one. It signifies that God has blessed you with a long life and that you will live longer than any other member of your family.”
Both the astrologers gave the same interpretation but the ways in which they expressed their opinions differed. The first astrologer was unwise and tactless and the second one was wise and tactful. The result was the Em
eror honoured the second astrologer with gifts but did not give any gift to the first one. Wisdom helps us to exercise our intellectual powers profitably. But an unwise man, using his intellectual powers causes great harm to himself and to others. The great poet Rāmadhāri Simha (Dinakar) says, “Intelligence is the slave of desires; Science is the slave of death, Oh God! What will happen to the universe since man has not yet grown wise ?" The man who made the atom bomb had to face a severe disaster. He had to die weeping over what he had made. His last words were, “I shall go to hell.”
A poet has said, “After the birds have eaten the harvest what is the use of repentance or regret? Oh raveller, awake! The day has dawned. You cannot sleep any more because the night has ended.”
A word uttered with compassion and wisdom can save a man from distress and bring him joy and cheerfulness but the same word uttered unwisely can wound
For Private And Personal Use Only
