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Jaina Acāra : Siddhanta aura Swarupa
67
the same. Again all sins on one side and drinking on the other, both will again weigh equal." Lydia, Babylonia and Roman empires became extinct because of drinking and prostitution. Sivāji's son 'Sambhājī, though a brave hero, was deprived of his kingdom because of this pernicious addicttion. Socrates said that drinking and free sex would bring about the end of a kingdom in two weeks which was otherwise destined to last for two years.
The Islamic civilization and the Hindu kingdoms like that of Nanda met the same fate. The Quran forbids wine, gambling and idol-worship. Hadis is stricter in this regard. It says, "Don't salute a drunkard. Don't enquire about him when he falls ill. Don't offer worship when he dies." Thus all propounders of religion and philosophers have rightly condemned drinking.
IV Prostitution Prostitution like drinking has been condemned by all. Rich and prosperous people have been reduced to beggary because of their being attracted by prostitutes' ogling, blandishment, uncovering their limbs and false professions of fidelity. Truly speaking, they love not men but their money for which they sell their bodies. They are burning torches which have ruined thousands of persons as moths nearing a lamp. Their love is spurious. They are adept at play-acting. Women, however, are steady like an ocean, mixing like water, loving like a cow, generous and personified images of fellow-feeling and selfless service. They have the qualities of Sarasvati (goddess of learning), Laxmi (goddess of wealth) and Durgā (goddess of warfare) all together. But prostitutes are shorn of them. Bashfulness is their ornament which enhances their charm. Prostitutes, however, are ugly in essence, since to expect love from them is like extra- acting oil from sand. They are a blot on womanhood and a societal leprosy. All indulgence in prostitution is to face a poisonous snake which only looks enticing. Fishes are tempted by sweetened flour which is stuck to the fishing fork. A fowler does the trick of scattering grain in order to catch birds. The passionate and also the innocent are thus entrapped. Bhartrhari has rightly said, "A prostiute is the flame of the fire of passion which is ever ignited by the fuel of beauty, Prostitutes are the leavings of society and a found of veneral diseases".
V Hunting A hunter becomes prosperous through sin. Intending to kill one, he kills many ruthlessly. He becomes hard like a stone and has hardly any compassionate feeling even for his own son. Vasunadi has aptly remarked:
"A hunter accumulates sin in one day what the user of honey, wine and meat does in several years." Those who kill others for whatever reason-pleasure, blind religious belief or just to see animals writhing in pain, can never feel happy. Vyāsa, the writer of Srimadhāgvat says that: "Such demons in the form of man become easy victims of the god of death."
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