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I am the Soul
realised that all had escaped but for the baby. The rich man was crying his heart out.
"O God! My only baby is caught in the fire. Please, somebody save him. Go get him out, please. Ask me anything. I am prepared even to pay a million or two!"
45
But who would go in? There were hundreds in the crowd that had gathered to see the house on fire. But who would risk his life? The question was, one might be greedy enough to risk one's life and go into the fire, yet if one were to die in the process, of what good would the millions be? A wise man in the crowd spoke to the rich father, "Brother! The baby is yours. Why don't you go in and get your baby? We will get you anything you need." But the rich father did not go in, and the dearest baby died in the fire.
Let's consider! Was the child dearer or the life? You may say 'What rot? My granny says her son is always in her heart. When the son is abroad, and she has cooked something special to eat, she cries, can hardly swallow a morsel.' Yet the same son will not be so dear when it comes to a life-or-death situation. Hence, what is most dear to us is our own life. That is why, it has been said - आत्मवत् सर्वभूतेषु
Let all beings be as dear to you as your own life. When this feeling is imbibed only then is true renunciation, true vairagya born.
The sages have left us these axioms knowing our psychology fully well. Treat others as you would yourself and shower your love and affection over them. Spread the affection that you have reserved for your spouse or family over all the souls in this universe and your affinity gets distributed. That itself is renunciation. Once the attachment is released from the limited frame, it does not take you long to relinquish it. Water stored in a small vessel takes days or sometimes months in drying up, yet when the same water is spread over a vast area it dries up in minutes, with no extra effort.
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