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NIRVANA,
135 insecure must be that happiness, when ing that state may go on through ages. attained inasmuch as very source of It consists in purging the soul of all wordly happiness is also a possible, if the sources of pain and disquiet, and not actual source of distress, and last of its association with everything.out of all, how insignificant this life itself side itself. All the feelings and is, how like a drop in the great ocean Passions are to be conquered, all crav. of eternity, that we should set our ings to be stopped. Only one orsving heart on making it happy, having re- is indulged in, that for universal alised all this, it behoves us to strive knowledge. Even this is not aimed after that spiritual happiness here or at directly, but follows as a concomit, elsewhere, and which being perfect is ant of the general purifying process. also eternal. If therc must be wrong in The difficulty of the task is recognised the world, let us raise ourselves above and a graduated course of trasuing the them; let us fortify our minds so as not soul is laid dowu. The effects of this to feel them. If our desires cannot be training the soul can carry from one fulfilled, let us overcome them. Let us birth to another, and thus work out its in short so train our minds, our souls, complete salvation. Once the soul has 88 to be altogether independent of attained perfection, it is relieved of worldly joys or sorrows, pleasures or the necessity of being re-born, ito pains.
activity ceases, and therefore it can“I have no control on thee, but I not change any more. The perfect am master of my own heart; I will happiness, which the Jain constantly tear it from my bosym, and throw it strives after, he attains here on earth, away." This is the remedy thought of and it is simply continued in after life by a poet for the pangs of despised without the body, which has already love, and Jainism suggests a similar ceased to serve any purpose. remedy for the woes of the world in It must be admitted that this train general
of thought can by no means be claimed So much for the prevention of as the sole monopoly of Jainism. It is actual suffering. The positive happiness shared by the greatest thinkers of all of the soul is to consist in calm medi- ages and countries, and is only revistation, and the subtle eujoyment ed to suit their metaphysical doctrines. springing from self-control, internal Not to mention the Hindu systems, the enlightenment and a sense of mastery greatest Greek philosophers from (subjective) over the external world. Plato downwards idealised poverty, The leading idea of Jainism is that and regarded true happiness as conhappiness, in order to be perfect and sisting in controlling the grosser eleeternal must be self-contained. It mustments of human nature, and develop be simply and purely a state of the ing its nobler side. Parallel thoughts soul, altogether imperturbable by the may also be traced in medieval and external world. The process of attain modern European philosophers. Even
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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