Book Title: Path of Arhat
Author(s): T U Mehta
Publisher: Sohanlal Smarak Parshwanath Shodhpitha Varanasi

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Page 102
________________ Journey to Freedom [ 77 ains where ? Does it remain in suspense ? It cannot remain in mere suspension. Its association with Karmic particles-Pudgala (Ajiva ) would not allow it to remain 'suspended' in eternity. Desires and intensity to fulfil them, are the unavoidable attributes of the soul, in union with Pudgalas. Look at · human existence and observe the attitude of our soul and the methods adopted by it as well as the objective sought by it. There is no soul in this universe which does not seek happiness as its main objective. Examine the nature of struggle for life in which all the souls, right from immobile having only one sense ( Ekendriya ) upto the human beings, the final expression of life's evolution, are involved, and you will find that happiness, by whatever means, is the only goal in life. It i achieve this happiness that the man, sometimes runs after wealth or power, after literature or culture, after social service or politics and sometimes after philosophy or religion. All desires and all activities-good and bad, derive their inspiration from the instinctive impulse to be happy. Man marries, remarries or remains a bachelor, begets children or adopts them, rears them up and invests lifetime toil to make them happy, strives, sacrifices his own pleasures and also does not mind making others unhappy and all this with a final goal to be happy himself. But he often, almost invariably finds that the real happiness is always eluding him. Finding an activity unable to give him the happiness he wanted, or that it gave only momentary happiness and began subsequently to bore him, man resorts to another activity. However the same experience is repeated and the process goes on. His whole life is exhausted and he is confronted by the inevitable Death. He realises in retrospect that most of his desires remain unfulfilled and his search for happiness was really a search in wilderness, as illusive as the appearance of water in a hot desert. This is the case with every human being. The question here arises whether the soul which longed for one or the other thing throughout its life and failed to achieve its final objective of a lasting happiness, would remain in suspended anima Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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