Way of Life Part 4

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

Page 27

DISCOURSE 74
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tices. Therefore, you must know the minds of the people among whom you live.
SAFEGUARD YOUR SELF-RESPECT
In your practical life, in this world, you must secure and safeguard your self-respect. Do you know the meaning of respect? Gaurav or respect does not mean merely being honoured and extolled by people. Gaurav or respect means the dignity of a man's individuality. People are greatly influenced by the dignity of a man who is free from pride and arrogance.
Suppose you are a wealthy man; or that you are a man of power and position or that you are the trustee of a large trust, your respect will increase only if you are humble in your dealings with others; sympathetic in your attitude towards others and only if you have the mind to help others. In such a case, even the respect for your spiritual austerities will increase.
People are mainly of four kinds : -- 1. The members of your family; 2. The members of your sangh and society; 3. The people of your city; and 4. The leaders.
GIVE PROMINENCE TO DHARMA
You must have a knowledge of the nature and mental propensities of these various kinds of people. You must know well who of them possess a strong determination or insistence; who possess strong and firm values and who of them possess strong opinions. You should not oppose those determinations, those values and those opinions that are not opposed to dharma or which are not opposed to the grihasthadharma. You must have the ability to realise whether certain values and opinions are opposed to dharma or not. Some simple people agree that they do not possess that ability. Some people who visit the temple and the upashraya do not really possess that ability. Yet they believe that they possess it. Such people think that those