Way of Life Part 1

Author(s): Bhadraguptasuri
Publisher: Vishvakalyan Prakashan Trust Mehsana

Page 26

10
THE WAY OF LIFE
quence". Having said this, those two great Indian scholars jumped into the tempestuous sea. IGNORANCE IS THE ROOT-CAUSE OF INFELICITY AND SORROW
What a tremendous love they had for knowledge! What an astounding faith in and devotion for dharmagranthas they had! They had such great love for dharmagranthas because they had read them and enjoyed the nectar of wisdom found in them. Have you at any time tasted the nectar of knowledge and wisdom? On account of his terrible ignorance, intellectual immaturity and unrighteousness, man has totally forgotten his soul. He has forgotten great men. He has also forgotten the Paramatma. Day by day, man has been sinking into the morass of agony, anguish and innumerable mockeries. When compassionate great men see such people, their hearts become benign and they give the light of true knowledge to them to liberate them from their sorrows and misery. It was with this purpose that the Acharya wrote Dharmabindu. THE PURITY OF THE INTELLECT IS AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY.
It is not easy to understand the doctrines of Dharma correctly. To understand them in their true form, the intellect should be pure and incisive. In other words, it should not be eclipsed and paralysed by any kind of obduracy or dogmatism. You must descend into the depths of your awareness and concentrate and contemplate on the doctrines of Dharma with intellectual incisiveness and sharpness. Is there incisiveness in your intellect? Is there purity in your intellect? This kind of intellect is essential if you want to understand Dharma and practise it. The great sages and Munis who compose such granthas do not have any selfish motives or interests in the materialistic and mundane pleasures of life. Just as they have the lofty objective of conferring benefits on jivas; just as they aim at providing some spiritual aid and guidance, they have a special objective with respect to themselves. One such lofty purpose of theirs is a deep enquiry into spiritual doctrines and a profound realisation of Shastras. Their second exalted purpose is to destroy Karmas;