Universal Message of Lord Mahavira

Author(s): Dulichand Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 94

Appendix XIV Pearls of Jaina Wisdom - III* 1. All living beings desire to live. They detest sorrow and death and wish a long happy existence. Hence one should not inflict pain on any creature nor harbour any feeling of enmity. Not to kill any being is the essence of all wisdom.
2. The soul is the begetter of both happiness and sorrow; it is its own friend when it treads the path of righteousness and is its own enemy when it chooses to travel on the forbidden path.
3. Victory ever one's self is greater than conquering thousands and thousands of enemies in the battlefield. A true conqueror is one who conquers his own self.
4. Deception, fraud, telling lie and malpractices in trade are the four animal instincts which drag the soul to sub-human existence.
5. The more you get, the more you want; desire increases with every gain. What starts as two grams of gold, has a tendency to end as millions of grams.
6. Anger, pride, deceit and greed are the four powerful enemies, which stimulate sinful deeds. One who desires the welfare of his self shouid renounce these four flaws.
7. Conquer anger by forgiveness, pride by humility, deceit by straight-forwardness and greed by contentment.
8. He who has got rid of delusion has his misery destroyed; he who has got rid of desire has his delusion destroyed; he who
* śramanopāśaka, 10 May 1999.