________________
372
THE WAY OF LIFE
THAT WHICH CAN SAVE YOU FROM RUIN IS DHARMA
Only the Dharma which comprises the great qualities of amity, compassion, love and neutrality can save men from spiritual ruin. The man who keeps those virtues in flower, in his heart, can never fall into spiritual ruin. Dharma influences the heart of any man who performs spiritual austerities with those feelings of amity etc in his heart. He can destroy his sinful karmas and he can perform noble actions. The spiritual austerities carried out by a man who is deviod of those four exalted emotions, will be fruitless. They cannot save the man from ruin. There is no sin like hatred for jivas; there is no wicked action like harming and hurting jivas. Keep repeatedly bathing in the Ganga of amity etc in order to discard your hatred for jivas. You have to sing about those emotions every day. That is why I have been explaining those emotions in great detail. To-day, we have to consider the attitude of neutrality. This is a very elevated emotion.
In the family of to-day, the felicity of which has been ruined, the quality of neutrality functions like a Ramabana, an unfailing and infallible remedy or aid to a man to retain his emotional equanimity.
This quality of neutrality is of great utility to those men and women who have the responsibility of taking care of others, In other words, those men and women must safeguard this nectar of neutrality, in their hearts. First, I shall describe the four forms of this attitude; and then I shall explain to you when and how you should exercise that quality.
THE EVILS OF SAMSAR ARE WITHOUT A BEGINNING AND WITHOUT AN END
The emotion of Madhyastha or neutrality is also called Upeksha or unconcern. This Upeksha is of four kinds: -
1. Karuna sara (Neutrality with compassion) 2. Anubandh sara (Neutrality of satisfaction) 3. Nirved sara (Neutrality for happiness) 4. Sattvasara (Philosophical neutrality)
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org