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Conclusion
not be hard when one has set the attainment of true nature of the intangible soul as the objective; his approach to life undergoes change thereafter.
It is said that no one can hit his target if his eyes are not steady. It is therefore absolutely necessary to set the objective firmly in mind. We will then learn to keep the defilements under control while undertaking all routine activities. If a monk also misses that objective, he is likely to fall from the monastic stage. He needs to be particularly cautious, because he has to face higher temptations. While a layman finds it hard to get enough living space in a city like Mumbai, the monk may get one or two floors' space; while the layman gets simple food with difficulty, the monk may get rich and tasty food in alms; while the layman may have to manage with torn or worn out clothes, there would hardly be a torn cloth on the monk's body. If the monk therefore misses his objective, he may get stuck up with all such facilities.
Some people say that they get overcome by rage even though they try to restrain it. It is worth asking them, “While you are in your shop and a customer comes from whom you expect to get the profit of a couple of thousands, how do you behave with him? Even if he tells you that you are lying about your material, do you fight with him? You ignore what he says because your objective is to earn from him. Similarly if you keep the objective of soul's well-being in mind, it would be easy to control the rage and other defilements”.
In the absence of such an objective, the virtues are likely to be reduced to hypocrisy. When one is imbibed with that objective, the virtues 'start blossoming forth; morality, integrity etc. become indivisible parts of his life and he finds it hard to survive without them. Then there could emerge a message from within, about where he needs to go and how he can proceed.
The human life is precious in the sense that we can chart our own course; we can decide to proceed towards the heaven or to the hell. Soul is a caravan-owner, who decides which way the caravan
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