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RELIGION & CULTURE OF THE JAINS
Greater is the victory of one who conquereth his own self, than that of him who conquereth thousands of thousands formidable foes in a valiant fight. Fight with thyself; why fight with foes external? Happy is he who conquereth his self by his self. Conquer thyself, for difficult it is to conquer the self. If the self is conquered, ye shall be happy in this world and hereafter.
All the creatures of the earth look for happiness outside of themselves, but real happiness must be sought inside the depths of their own hearts. Anger, conceit, deceit and avarice are the four evils that defile the soul. By calmness is anger overcome, by humility conceit, by straigthness deceit, and by contentment avarice. O' Being ! Thou art thy friend. Why wishest thou for a friend outside theyself? Restrain theyself, and thou shalt be free from sorrow.
The path of the brave is thorny; it involves mortification of the flesh.
Better is he who restrainesh his self, though he giveth no alms, than he who giveth away thousands and thousands of cows every month but restraineth not his self.
It is the conduct or actions of a person that make him (or her) a Brāhmaṇa, a Ksatriya, a Vaiśya, or a Sūdra, and not birth.
Neither the body, nor family, nor caste, is adorable. Who would have respect for those that are devoid of merit? One that hath no mderit is neither a Šramaņa nor a Śrāvaka. One who insults others will long revolve in the whirlpool of
