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It is for this reason that a Jain saint has said that if there were no objects of senses in the world, there would have been no unhappiness for the soul. It is because of its likes and dislikes for the objects of senses such as sound, form, taste etc. that the soul attempts to do what it should not do, speaks what it should not speak and thinks and believes what it should not think and believe and consequently become unhappy. However, we should realise that so long as the world is there, the objects of the senses are bound to remain there. This cannot be helped. But what is within the power of man to do is that he should stop considering those objects as good or bad because of his likes and dislikes for those objects. It is for this reason that it was stated at the outset that one should carry on only such activities as would lead to a gradual reduction and destruction of attachment and hatred. The more you reduce your activities pertaining to the objects of the senses, the more your attachments and hatred will be reduced and to that extent your misery will be less and your happiness will increase. The Indian religions have taught mankind detachment from and aversion to the objects of the senses because they are evil. They teach us that, as far as possible, one should get rid of these objects of senses and try to acquire victory over the six internal enemies, namely desire, anger, greed, pride, ego and joy which arise from our coming into contact with the objects of senses. The people in India were happy and incidents of theft, robbery, murder, violence etc. were few and far between so long as they placed emphasis on detachment and renunciation. It was
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