________________
Ans. A man longs for happiness. That conduct which brings happiness is the best.
The happiness referred to here is inner joy, not sensuous pleasure. Inner joy is independent of all means. Pleasure dependent on material objects is ever attended by pain. Only absolute or inner joy is free from pain. Such joy manifests itself in a state of equanimity. Equanimity creates a state of consciousness from which sprout the fountains of joy, in which the glands are activated and chemical changes take place. No outside circumstances can adversely affect this joy.
Q. Sangam Dev perpetrated upon Lord Mahavir twenty death-dealing tortures. Did this pediment whatsoever to Mahavir's joy?
cause no im
Ans. That Sangam inflicted great tortures upon Lord Mahavir, is true. But all his actions failed to disturb Lord Mahavir's inner peace. He did not even experience any physical pain, it seems. Because unbearable pain often makes a man unconscious, but Lord Mahavir bore all his travails very consciously. Which means that Lord Mahavir's consciousness was not affected by pain, rather his painful situation itself was quite overwhelmed by the fountains of inner joy which sprouted within him.
Q. A rare individual, instead of being overwhelmed by pain, can quite overpower the circumstances of pain themselves. Does it happen through spiritual power, or is there a scientific reason for it, too?
Ans. Such a thing does not occur without a cause. The scientific reason for it is quite clear. Each physical body has its unique organisation, which is regulated by a chemical called melatonin. The function of that chemical
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