Way of Life Part 2

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

Page 79

DISCOURSE 29
67
THINK ABOUT THE PRESENT LIFE AT LEAST
Maharajashri : If she is really intelligent and sagacious, she would not give up her attempts to persuade you. By some means or the other, she would certainly impel you some day to follow the path of morality and lawfulness. There is a special kind of power in woman. She can elevate her husband to the level of a god and she can also make him a Satan. But, of course, now-a-days, addictions, fashions and imitations are compelling both men and women to forget the path of duty and propriety. Men and women who have become thralls of addictions, fashions and aberrations have begun to pursue the unrighteous path of immorality, dishonesty and unlawfulness. Somehow or the other, they want to acquire wealth. "If we have a lot of wealth with us, we can build a palatial mansion for ourselves; we can buy an excellent car; we can go to clubs; our social status will increase, we will become important in the eyes of society; we can secure brides from affluent families, we can secure bridegrooms from affluent families;" Do not you think so ? But you think only of the present life which is momentary. Even there, you do not entertain proper and noble thoughts; you do not entertain firm and noble thoughts. You do not think of your life in the other world. "Where will I be born in my next life? What sorrows and anguish will I have to experience in that life? You do not think of such things. Apart from that, even regarding the present life, you do not entertain the thought of making it a life of happiness. The wealth that is earned by illegal and immoral ways makes even the present life sorrowful.
YOU FEEL THAT HONESTY, MORALITY AND LAWFULNESS ARE CHILDISH AND IMMATURE
That young man tried his best to convince his wife of the truth of his words, but she was not convinced. How could she be convinced of it? Her eyes were fixed on affluence. She wanted thousands of rupees. If her husband could earn a lot of money by dishonest means, she would like it. "Now-a-days, who is honest? Who does not use dishonest methods ? If we follow subserviently the path of morality and legality, our