Manava Dharma

Author(s): Bhurmal Shastri, Nihalchandra Jain
Publisher: Aacharya Gyansagar Vagartha Vimarsha Kendra

Page 76

54 / MANAV DHARMA where near it; for this reason, the 'Enlightened' householder is considered superior to an ascetic devoid of true faith.
As a rule the ascetic has precedence over the householder because of his asceticism but since conduct without faith can never be pure, the 'Acharya' says that asceticism without faith is inferior to faith without asceticism. Description :
Imagine, there are two patients, one is suffering from fever and the other from cold and cough. To a feverish man, the physician advised to take a medicine known as CHIRAYTA (facrin) to be free from the fever. The patient drinks chirayta but is still thinking when he will leave drinking chirayta as he does not take it very useful for him for a longer period because that is bitterly pungent; he drinks it only to recover from fever. Similarly the physician advised the patient of cough not to take curd till he gets rid off cough. He does not eat curd but still he thinks, when this cough will end he will eat the curd. He will start using curd as soon as the disease of cough comes to an end. Now let us examine what is the difference between the thoughts of the two ? The first wishes to give up what he is eating for early improvement and the second is prepared to eat or accept what he had been asked to give up. The same is true with a householder and an ascetic. One man is he, who, being an house holder, wants to abandon himself from all wordly attachments: no doubt, to live in the family is his helplessness and a time-being bondage. The second man is he, who has left doing all homely affairs and became an ascetic but whose inner-self and all the five senses are beyond his control. Even being an ascetic, his inner self is indulged in worldly affairs. And to conclude we have to say that the first man, even leading a house holder's life, is still looking forward towards the path of renunciation and the second one though an ascetic is not really an ascetic, because his inner self is still indulged in worldly attachments. One is a traveller on the path of salvation and the other is a runner towards worldly affairs. No one can be called an ascetic by shaving his head and living in Jungle. This is not renunciation because it is related to inner self. Only by controlling the mind and own self, one can become a Renouncer otherwise it is mere a mockery or irony of abandonment or Renunciation. Nothing to do and still to get name and fame, then what more is needed by a man as is said.
मूढ़े मूढ़े में तीनगुण, सिर की रही न खाज । खाने को लड्डू मिले, महाराज का ताज ॥ .