________________
DISCOURSE 37
189
You get a cultured and congenial family on account of your merit but then it is absolutely necessary that you should make your family cultured. Will you organise your family affairs in such a way that your family will get excellent education; that it becomes cultured and that it will have a congenial atmosphere? Will you provide these things to your family? or will you keep looking at the sky and counting the stars thinking that your family will become noble and cultured by means of punya or merit ?
If you want a noble and cultured family, you must marry a woman who is sensible and who is of noble birth and of excel. lent and exemplary character.
The mother requires the quality of spiritual awareness in order to make her children noble and cultured. Even from their embryonic stage she must be able, to educate her children with skill and insight. You must keep your mind under control and conduct yourself in an exemplary manner in respect of your domestic life and behaviour.
AWARENESS ESSENTIAL IN RESPECT OF SEEING, HEARING AND READING :
You must be extremely careful with the members of your family in respect of three principles. You must be cautious in respect of seeing, hearing and reading. Any noble or ignoble ideas can enter the mind of man only through these three media.
Whatever you see; whatever you hear and whatever you read, has its effect upon your mind and heart. You may not even be aware of the effect immediately but gradually, the effect increases and it manifests itself in your actions. You yourself may wonder. "How did this change come about in me ?” Actually that transformation has taken place in you on account of your seeing certain things, hearing certain things and reading certain things.
When a thief was caught and produced before the magistrate, he made this confession in the court, "I saw a certain
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org