Way of Life Part 1

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

Page 45

DISCOURSE 2
35
in play always, your words do not appeal to your son. He will not pay heed to your words. All your efforts will be to prevent your son from going out. You would tell your son, "If you want to play, play in the house, do not go out". You allow your son to play within your house for sometime. His vagabond friends will not come into your house. You do not allow those vagabond friends of your son to enter your house. The boy plays in the house and in the yard. Then you tell him to study for sometime. He abides by your words. Step by step, his mind gets drawn towards studies. Then, automatically his love of games lessens and his mind gets drawn towards studies.
Make your Religious Activities Sublime and Spiritual
This is the case with sins also. Man loves money. He loves worldly pleasures also. He commits sins; he causes violence; he utters lies, he commits thefts, he also commits immoral actions, like lechery and ignoble actions. If you want to draw such a man towards the path of dharma, tell him, "Brother, you love wealth, don't you? You desire worldly pleasures, don't you? Why do you wander aimlessly in this world ? Today, here, you worship Dharma and act according to it and by means of Dharma you will attain worldly enjoyments and wealth." When he moves towards the path of Dharma and when he worships Dharma to attain wealth and worldly enjoyments, leave him there without disturbing him. Let some time pass. Then you convince him with love that the desire for wealth and worldly enjoyments is not a noble desire and that those desires are sinful. You also tell him, "Human beings, in their life should desire to attain only salvation. By means of Dharma, moksha should be attained. On account of the wealth and worldly enjoyments even spiritual austerities become transformed into mean endeavours to attain sensual delights. They do not become noble and sublime actions".
If he is an intelligent person, he will pay heed to your words and make his spiritual activities sublime and sacred. Even if he is a fool, he will perform spiritual activities, will he not? He will keep away from sinful actions, won't he ? Even