Jaina Acara Siddhanta aur Svarupa

Author(s): Devendramuni
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 95

IX
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LIVING WITHOUT ADDICTIONS
Independent India has many responsibilities to shoulder but the greatest one is to preserve moral values without which no industrial or technological advances can be of real significance. Our boundaries must be protected against external aggressions for which the army has to function effectively. But inside the country there should be integrity, sincerity and devotion. Science without conscience is extremely risky. What the developed countries lack is peace of mind notwithstanding their recognized expertise in science and nuclear weaponry etc. India had excelled not in adding to physical comforts but in inculcating ethics and emphasizing purity of means. It was never Machiavellian. Political freedom is just the first step. It has to be consolidated by economic freedom which still eludes us, but the basic need of man is spirituality which means looking within for self-realization. There must be harmony between materialistic progress and spiritual advance. What avails man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul. Canals, dams, computers, mechanization—all these things, yes, but what after that ? India believed in minimizing needs and in not joining the mad race with no idea of destination. When corruption becomes general practice, there is no saving grace left. Death comes but once but addictions stick to man resulting in his never-ending suffering here and hereafter.
Vyasana (i.e. addiction) is a Sanskrit word which means trouble. Here the effect has secondarily been applied to the cause. Those which cause trouble are addictions. To begin with, gambling, smoking, drinking etc., attract you. You begin to like them. Gradually, you feel out of sorts if they do not come your way. Their repetition with relish signifies addiction. They are poisonous trees which you never planted, but in that soil good conduct finds little scope to thrive. A parasite creeper dries the tree, so also addictions make a hell of an addict's life. When a river is flooded, its banks are washed away. So also addictions spoil one's life. Their life is arid. There are bickerings and conflicts in the family every now and then. They lose credit in society and are looked down on by all and sundry. Addiction is a deep muddy pit overgrown with enticing vegetation and verdure. The more you try to enjoy greenery the more you are inextricably caught in a mess. Addicts lose sight of decency and decorum.
"In Vedic literature addictions are of eighteen kinds out of which ten are born of sex and eight of indignation. The first category comprises