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Jaina Acāra : Siddhanta aura Svarūpa
247 They fasten animals to a stake lest they should stray wilfully. But the craze to augment property takes a man to barren lands and foreign countries. People turn slaves to money for which they forsake their family and even renounce their religion. But even the whole world cannot slake your thirst. Ultimately money is not for comfort but for the sake of money. Many monied people lose even their appetite. Money cannot avert your age and death.
There are reflections on non-possessiveness to prevent you from falling into the mire of external glamour. A detached person lives in the world and yet above it like the lotus plant.
A spiritual aspirant may think of leaving the world but where is the non-world? From a city or town you may go to some countryside, some village, some hamlet but there also you will see flowers blooming and birds twittering. You cannot help seeing, hearing, smelling, touching etc.. All you can and should do is not to be attached to them nor should you have the desire to possess things more than you need.
Jainism does not advocate destruction of senses, since that would be impracticable and hence foolish. What it says is that you should control them lest you should be led astray by them. They should no be allowed to lord it over you. It wants nobody to be handicapped, otherwise blind, deaf and lame persons should be luckier still. We now take the five reflections one by one, :
(1) Srotrendriyasamvara-Everybody wants to hear sweet words and never harsh or bitter ones. Even animals discriminate between the two. The deer's senses are benumbed when it listens to some melodious tune.
en an intoxicated elephant starts swinging in a gay mood and so does a poisonous snake. Cows ans buffaloes start giving more milk. Even plants seem to be gay. Bitter words generate grief, frustration and glumness.
Monks and nuns are both praised and blamed on different occasions. Should they be happy when eulogized and depressed when found fault with, there will be no difference between them and other ordinary people. The former should be indifferent to both praise and censure. It is not words which hurt others. It is your reaction to them that matters. If because of external factors you love one and hate another, it is a slur on monkhood, since they must be above what others say. Words are merely the instrumental cause. Attraction and repulsion are the material cause. Commendation and censure should not matter to them.
(2) Caksurindriyasamvara-Without eyes the world is dark. Without wings, birds are helpless.. There are beautiful women, charming natural scenery, palatial buildings, art galleries and the like. On the other hand there are ugly scenes which are repulsive. A thing of beauty is a joy
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