Perspectives in Jaina Philosophy and Culture

Author(s): Satish Jain, Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Ahimsa International

Page 94

evil or hear evıl of others If you will cast out evil thoughts about others, all are friendly
There is no evil in the world If it appears to be evil, it is due to the smoky or colored glasses that you are wearing on your heart or mind You will find that if you think in the way that I have just told you, then naturally you will have respect and love for all, even for your enemies They might think otherwise of you, but if you have thrashed out every evil thought within you for everybody, you will see with that angle of vision, which the Master gives you, that it is all the manifestation of God, then naturally, everybody will be beautiful You will see this beauty even in your enemy A perverted view is only on account of smoky glasses
We must all learn to look within and not without It is far easier to see a mote in another's eye than to see a beam in one's own We must reform ourselves before we can reform others, but unfortunately we are always anxious to reform others We should weed out all imperfections one by one self-introspection and this will bring peace all around Love beautıfies everything and if we learn to love everyone, all our imperfections can be washed away, especially by loving kind words Kind words imbued with humility don't cost anything If you have that attitude in life, I think ninety percent of your troubles will be avoided
The place where fire burns becomes heated first and then transmits its heat to the atmosphere around So it the case with fire or anger An imagined or supposed wrong keeps rankling in the mind like a thorn When one cannot bear its intensity, one bursts forth into flames of hatred and contempt (begins abusing right and left), loses his balance of mind, and like a canker keeps emitting a malign odor that virtually goes on polluting the atmosphere around Most of the injuries and wrongs are the ontcome of our own process of thinking, and such thoughts breed countless others, multiplying in geometrical proportion We can get out of this Vicious circle only by changing our attitude towards life Why sacrifice our natural equanimity for mere trifles, for passing bubbles and vapory nothings that are things of no consequence? Instead of brooding over these supposed and imagined wrongs It would be better by far to contemplate on the higher aspects of life, the divinity within and the divinity without, for this world is verily of the dlvine and divinity resides therein
You will gradually have greater control over your feelings and emotion, such as vanity, greed and lust, and develop instead virtues of humility, contentment, chastity and love You will give up your habit of judging others and start adjusting yourself to their weaknesses and shortcomings, either by overlooking or affording constructive help to them By this adjustment, you will bring much sunshine and happiness for yourself as well as for all those around you If you think with a calm and cool mind, you will realize that most of us have not become perfect as yet
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