________________
fond of speaking than his attachment for speaking can be converted into affection by speaking well of others and speaking for the welfare of others. Similarly, the attachment for food can be liberalised by feeding others; that for sensory enjoyment by Lord's worship and the attachment for destructive activities can be liberalised by undertaking
constructive work.
In service own pleasure is shared with others and the servant shares others' misery. By sharing own pleasure with others one overcomes attachment for that pleasure and by sharing others' misery one sheds one's own misery. At the same time the pleasure of sensory enjoyment gets converted into eternal pleasure of affection and mitigation of the misery of the served one gives the servant an indescribable pleasure and his heart is filled with love and affection. The pleasure of love is unique and quite different from the pleasure of sensory enjoyment. That pleasure is whole and eternal. That pleasure fills the heart whenever it is remembered and does away with the momentary pleasures of sensory enjoyments. Thus, the insipidity of impermanent sensory pleasures gets converted into the freshness of eternal spiritual pleasure generated by service. No living being can live a dry and insipid life. Every creature needs some pleasure to lead a meaningful life. The rule is that as long as there is no selflessness in life the dryness and insipidity is bound to settle in and that dryness and insipidity will induce one to fall for sensory enjoyments in the hope of deriving some pleasure or the other. Therefore, in order to get rid of the disturbance of the insatiable desires and for liberating from the dependent and impermanent enjoyments of the senses, one has to convert the pleasure of attachment into the pleasure of love and affection.
The practical form of love is the activity aimed at general weal, which is referred to as service. Service washes away the poison of sensory pleasure from the heart and it gets converted into the elixir of love. Service is the spiritual practice of converting the rising disease of attachment into the remedy of love and affection. Although for a monk the main stress is on the practice of restraint and detachment,
54
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
Positive Non-Violence
www.jainelibrary.org