Shrimad Rajchandra And Mahatma Gandhi

Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal

Page 66

Shrimad Rajchandra's Message
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circumstances are conducive and favour them, their joy knows no bounds. However, when circumstances reverse they become very unhappy. What a person believes to be the source of his happiness is, in reality, a potential source of agony. A person who relishes delicious food feels happy when he eats that food; however, that same food can bring discomfort or pain through over-consumption. A person is constantly in pursuit of objects that fulfil his worldly desires, but these desires are insatiable and eventually lead to disappointment and sorrow. One's very quest for seeking happiness in materialistic objects becomes the greatest source of sorrow. Taking this into consideration, Shrimad Rajchandra has said mystically, “If only the world understood what is true happiness, moksha, as defined by the wise people, would not be located beyond the highest heavens but would exist on the earth itself.”
The third type of happiness that people seek in this world is from increasing their possessions. A child will cry if someone takes away its favourite toy. It is from one's very childhood that one develops attachment and love for material wealth. It is a common pursuit among ordinary people to focus on increasing their material wealth. Although their realistic requirements are limited their appetite to accumulate more is never fulfiled therefore keeping them occupied for most of their lives. A person with an insatiable appetite to accumulate material wealth tends to develop selfish tendencies. Such a person does not hesitate or have qualms in committing fraud or crime in order to accumulate more wealth. The more one's wealth increases, the greater becomes one's greed to amass even more. As possessions increase, inner strength to practise austerities and renunciation begins to weaken.
Many find happiness in fulfilment and or gratification of their ego. Ego in a very subtle way sometimes evolves in those