________________
DISCOURSE 83
family. It is also necessary to think of it from the point of view of your family. It is necessary to think of it from the point of view of the dissemination of Dharma. Moreover, you have to think of it from the point of view of the greatness of the Jain society in the world. The author of the grantha has made this statement with farsightedness. You should understand the meaning implied in this statement. You will understand this point easily if you read the life-histories of the shravaks that lived in the past.
145
Yes. If the desire for renunciation has arisen in your heart; if you want to prepare yourself for the pursuit of the path of self-sacrifice, you need not have the aim of increasing your purusharthas of Artha and Kama and you may aim at renouncing Artha and Kama; but if you want to remain a householder, you have to aim at success in all the three purusharthas namely Dharma, Artha and Kama. You must bear in mind, the vital point that you should not adopt foul methods in your pursuit of Artha and Kama.
You have to possess strength even if you want to attain progress in your Dharmapurushartha. Strength is essential in every situation in life. When Kumarpal, the king of Gurjara prohibited the practice of sacrificing animals to goddess Kantakeshwari, the goddess who was infuriated by this, assaulted Kumarpal with her trishul (the trident) and inflicted upon him the dreadful disease of leprosy. But even in that terrible calamity, Kumarpal displayed great mental and spiritual strength. He never felt helpless. He remained fearless. Gurudev Hemachandra Soorishwarji made her weak and helpless by his powers and compelled her to free Kumarpal from that dreadful disease. Have you heard this story?
INCREASE YOUR STRENGTH
Nietzsche was a famous German philosopher. He was an outstanding thinker. He possessed an extremely incisive intelligence. His capacity for logical analysis and exposition was unexampled. But he did not utilize his intelligence as much as was necessary; yet he was a man of tremendous courage and
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org