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Jain Education International
A student of geography once said to me that the ocean had needlessly occupied many of the spaces of the earth. 'The ocean's water is salty,' he said, 'not useful for drinking, nor for irrigation; the ocean is nothing more than a source of salt.'
I said to him, 'Yes, it may be a source of salt, but it is also a source of precious jewels. If a
man works conscientiously with a proper awareness in all his actions, he will surely gain from it. Where does one find such a cache of
pearls? Where is the source of such unique jewels hidden?' It is true that for the common people, the ocean is only a source of salt, but for those who are industrious and do their work with discrimination and courage, the ocean is a source of jewels without peer. This life is like an ocean, which, with laziness and foolishness will simply become as worthless as a sea comprised only of salt. But when vigour and conscientiousness are applied, this very ocean becomes a source of gems, a treasure trove of incomparable jewels.
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