________________
52
TULSI-PRAJNA
the imperishable, the goal of life, the soure of happiness to the universe.
And The Katha Upanishad says:
There is one who is the eternal reality among noneternal objects, the one (truly) concious entity among concious objects, and who though non-dual, fulfills the desires of many. Eternal peace belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within themselves not to others.
Of the two voices, which one should we hear? One is the voice of the matter, the temporal, and the finite, while the other the voice of the spirit, the Eternal, and the Infinite; one is the voice of the pleasant and prosperity, the other is the voice of the True, and Illumination; we are unable to decide on which voice to hear. If we accept the first, the matter crushes us; if we accept the second, spirit swallows us. Most of us, choose the first. The souls that follow the second path, are few. They become immortal. However, despite our option of the material way, none of us want to be crushed by matter. That is why we long for a more meaningful life.
The question is how to have a right mixture of the two. The Hindu thought has the unique distinction of having achieved this from very early times. In Hindu thought we include Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, and other thoughts of Indian origin. The Isha Upanishad proclaims:
In darkness are they who worship only the world, but in greater darkness are they who worship the Infinite alone. He who accepts both saves himself from death by the knowledge of the former and attains immortality by the knowledge of the latter.
A true Hindu would not decry matter because it is important in the day-to-day life of man and also because it is an expression of the Spirit itself; but he refuses to deny the Spirit, the ultimate reality. It lays emphasis on welfare, prosperity, duty, while trying to work towards
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
