Mokshamala

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 17

2) Animal state: By virtue of indulging in deception, fraud, trickery etc. soul gets the state of animals like lion, elephant, deer, cow, buffalo, ox, etc. In such states it is required to face, hunger, thirst, heat, bondage, amputation, hitting, bearing loads etc.
3) Human state: There are uncivilized human beings, who do not have discernment about the articles to be eaten, who indiscriminately indulge in sex with mother or daughter, who take meat, resort to stealing, indulge in sex with others' wives and undertake such other sinful activities. In civilized societies also there are unintelligent, poor, ignorant and disease-stricken people, who have been undergoing different types of distress like disrespect etc.
4) Heavenly state: The heavenly beings also have been spending their age-spans by indulging in mutual hostility and vengeance, disputation, lamentation, jealousy, arrogance, sensuality etc.
This is the description of four states of existence in general. Of those four states, the human state is rare and topmost. One can attain blissful liberation during that state. There are, however, various types of distresses and obstructions in that state too.
While being in the womb of the mother a fetus has to bear intense pain comparable to that, which a young one would experience by sharp needles thrust at the root of every bodily hair. It gets born after staying for nine months in the midst of urine, stool, blood and puss while undergoing pain in the subconscious state. At the time of birth also it bears much more pain than that in the womb.
During childhood one gets stained with urine, stool or dirt and stays naked. He passes that state while wandering, crying etc. During youth he has to undertake various types of sinful activities in order to earn. Due to sexual urge his tendency turns towards the place from where he had initially come out. The young age thus passes away while indulging in excitement, laziness, arrogance, censurable pleasure, uniting, separation etc. and one arrives at the old age.
In that age the body trembles, saliva flows from the mouth, skin gets wrinkled; the faculties of smell, sound and sight go down, hairs grow grey and start falling down; capacity to walk goes down; one tumbles even while walking with a stick or he has to stay bedridden. He gets stuck with coughing, loss of breath and such other diseases, and eventually the death takes over; the soul leaves the body, which is reduced to nothing.
How much pain has to be borne at the time of death! How much misery is thus involved even in the human state, which is considered topmost among the four states of existence? Moreover, death does not necessarily take over in the order mentioned above. It takes over any time. On that very account the sensible persons resort to spiritual pursuit without indulging in indolence.
Lesson 19: Four analogies to the worldly life, Part 1
The spiritual philosophers have given following four analogies to the worldly life.
1 The first analogy relates to sea and the philosophers have compared the worldly life to a sea. It is endless and unfathomable like a sea. They have therefore called for undertaking the endeavor to cross over it. The analogy of sea is perfectly applicable to the worldly life. As waves roll over the sea, the waves of sense objects roll in the worldly life. As the surface of sea appears flat, the worldly life also looks straight at its surface. As the sea is deep at certain places and whirlpools exist here and there, the worldly life is deep in respect of sensuous indulgence and whirlpools of delusion are seen there. While standing even in the shallow water of sea, the feet get sunk within the sea-mud; similarly by indulging even in a minor aspect of the worldly life one gets sunk within the mud of desires. As under-water rocks and sea storms are risky to the ships, the women-rocks and sex-storms of the worldly life play havoc to the soul. While appearing cool with its immense water the sea is the abode of submarine fire: similarly the fire of illusion stays ablaze in