Istopadesa The Golden Discourse

Author(s): Vijay K Jain
Publisher: Vikalp

Page 61

Iṣṭopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
विपत्तिमात्मनो मूढः परेषामिव नेक्षते ।
दह्यमानमृगाकीर्णवनान्तरतरुस्थवत् ॥
The man who fails to realize that afflictions that befall others will one day run into him is like the man who, sitting on the top of a tree in a burning forest, feels safe while the deer and other animals are being consumed by the fire.
(14)
EXPLANATORY NOTES
We are extremely fortunate to be in a position to ponder over matters pertaining to life and death. In the present era and in this part of the cosmos, human beings have a life expectancy at birth of around three to four score years depending largely on the conditions of public health, medical care and economic circumstances prevailing in different parts of the world. Globally, cessation of a very large number of pregnancies takes place each year because of causes natural or induced, and millions of infants and children die before their fifth birthday. Many live in condition of bare subsistence and it is not expected of them to think beyond the necessities of life, their immediate needs. Even today, a large number of people ever remain shrouded in absurd superstitions due to reasons beyond their control, includng lack of education, and cultural and religious inheritances.
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All human beings who have not met with an untimely death pass through eight experiential stages in life - birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood, old age, and death. We are mostly dependent on others till we reach the stage of youth. In