I am The Soul Part 01

Author(s): Tarulatabai Mahasati
Publisher: Shri Gujarati Shwetambar Sthanakwasi Jain Association

Page 66

8
I am the Soul
Come let us ask ourselves honestly; have we left any stone unturned while trying to satisfy the desires of our senses and the mind? There is hardly anything that we have not done, and we seem determined to stop at nothing. We care two hoots for religion, ethics and morality. This is the attitude that lands us into endless trouble. A being should realise in depth that "I (and not the body) am the Soul", that "blissfulness is my real nature. I need not seek pleasures in external gratifications; that is ignorance and is contrary to my nature. I shall not fall prey to them. I shall never succumb to them and shall not do anything deplorable in their pursuit."
If a being always remains vigilant of this fact, directs all his actions to achieve this goal, then he is bound to be away from all sins, will avoid adding up karma and as a result enjoy eternal bliss instead of endless sorrow. Only those who have managed to identify their Self within themselves, have attained this bliss. Others have been wandering in the cycle of birth and death, longing and lamenting for a rare moment of happiness.
It is therefore, that Srimadji has said -
जे स्वरूप समज्या विना, पाम्यो दु:ख अनन्त,
Brothers! Only those who realise the Self can get liberated. Those who do not, have to remain in the birth and death cycle. In practical life one who does not understand worldly matters is termed ignorant; what shall we call those who do not understand the spiritual path? Ignorance of worldly matters is sometimes painful, but ignoring the spiritual path leads to endless sorrow in the living present and perhaps in future too.
Now, if we intend to escape the flames of this wildfire-like endless sorrow; if we intend to put a stop to this cycle of birth and death, then the only resort left is to look within and seek the true Self. Our path is bound to open up the very moment we realise this, we will have embarked upon the journey towards our goal. It is this implication that is carried in Srimadji's phrase
समजाव्यं ते पद नमुं,