Way of Life Part 1

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

Page 32

THE WAY OF LIFE
You perform an action which brings you the fruit that you desire. You have this confidence, “By doing this work, I can attain the fruits I desire." All of you perform all your actions in this manner. Your decision may be defective and on account of it, your action may not bring you the desired result. But that is a different matter. The desire of your mind is that you should become a wealthy man and that you should become prosperous. Your idea that you can get a lot of wealth by doing some business or following an occupation is connected with this kind of thinking. “A man follows an occupation or; does some business but he does not get any profit from it; added to it he may lose his money. Such a thing can happen but man follows an occupation only for the money he may get out of it." It is this idea that prompts you to do work.
Intelligent people think of the fruit that their actions bring
The great Acharya's desire is that Jivas (human beings) must be made to follow dharma. His strong belief is that by acting according to dharma, man can become a superman; the soul can become a supreme soul. A jiva can become a Shiva and man can attain infinite and ineffable delight. His aspiration is that all Jivas (human beings) must attain happiness and absolute bliss. Inspired by this sublime aspiration, he comminicates his message to the Jivatma; "You should act according to Dharma; live according to the Dharma". At once, intelligent people ask these questions. “Why should we act according to the Dharma ? What do we get by doing so? What fruit are we going to attain from it ?”
Whatever new work appears before intelligent people, at once, they think of the profit that they may get by doing it. Their belief is that the work may bring them some profit, that it may bring them some good and useful result. Only when the fruit is thus visualized, they do any work. If they feel that they may incur loss by doing that work and that it will not bring them any benefit or fruit, they will not do it. This is the nature of human mind. Not only this; man is not interested in the nature of the work that he takes up; it is enough if he feels certain that it will bring him some benefit or some happiness