The Truth

Author(s): O P Jain
Publisher: Veer Nirvan Granth Prakashan Samiti

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THE TRUTH
and cannot result in happiness. Such people seek the result of Dharma in gratification of passions, acquisition of wealth, status, power, family etc. Obviously it is entirely a wrong concept of Dharma; infact this aim is diametrically opposite to the one for which Dharma was prescribed. The passions and desires are the real cause of sufferings and Dharma was supposed to annihilate them. How, then, should one expect to seek worldly gains by following Dharma. Such people naturally get soon frustrated and ascribe their failure to the inadequacy of the Dharma. Consequently, they again go back to methods which seem to satisfy their passions quickly even though in most cases, not only these passions are not satisfied, but they are aroused further resulting in untold misery. Such is the story of the World..
The correct aim of Dharma should be to subside and destroy the passions and the results should be tested in terms of the decline of intensity of passions. As passions decrease, true happiness follows even without any external gains. In case passions do not decrease, the conduct cannot be called Dharma.
The virtuous conduct, which is associated with Dharma, will certainly give rise to punya karma prakritis. This is what is generally called good fortune, and will result in worldly gains of all types. But such gains are only a bye-product of Dharma and are unwanted. The real gain is the freedom of soul from .passions which means freedom from karmas and hence the attainment of supreme bliss. None should aspire or be satisfied by a secondary gain only and be ignorant or unmindful of the real and lasting gain. The wordly gain should not be welcome as it is also the result of bondage of karmas with the soul and prolongs the time for the soul to be free. We should follow Dharma with no worldly desires and with a conviction that it is the only natural behaviour of my soul. Then it will result in stoppage and shedding of karmas and early liberation.
Some people expect super-natural powers to develop by following Dharma and like to see such powers in those to whom only they will like to call saints of high order. This again is an erroneous thinking because firstly a saint of high order will attach no importance to such powers and will never exhibit them to influence people, and secondly such powers will depend upon the influence of karmas of previous life also besides those bonded in this life. A true saint will not use such powers for any selfish ends.