________________
304
THE WAY OF LIFE
body. It takes away everything from you. No one can stop death from carrying out its acts of destruction. The author mentions this point in the third concluding stanza of the first Adhyaya.
सत्येतस्मिन्नसारासु संपत्स्यविहिताग्रहः । पर्यतदारुणा सुच्चैर्धर्मः कार्यों महात्मभिः ॥ ३ ॥
All kinds of wealth are really worthless; wealth is incapable of preventing death from occurring. Wealth is powerless in this regard. Wealth brings countless sorrows and miseries. Therefore, human beings should discard their attachment for wealth and should follow the path of Dharma. How enormous was the wealth of Ravana, the King of Lanka! What kind of wealth did he not possess? He was the Emperor of a vast area. He possessed one thousand different kinds of abilities and accomplishments. There were thousands of beautiful queens in his harem. He had many sons, many brothers and many sisters. He possessed a magnificent body and superhuman strength. He had under his power thousands of subordinate kings who humbly carried out his hests. But when he died, did all these things follow him? He had to leave all these things behind and go to Narak (hell).
The great poet, Upadhyayashri Vinayvijayji says;
कहा करूं मंदिर ? कहा करूं दमरा ? न जानूं कहा उड़ बैठेगा भंवरा....? जोडी जोड़ी गये छोड़ी दुमाला, उड़ गया पंछी पड़ा रहा माला....
Here mandir means house and damara means wealth. The poet says, "What is the use of my house and what is the use of my wealth? I do not know whither my soul flies away.. I see that ignorant people build magnificent mansions. They amass enormous wealth but when death comes, leaving them, the soul flies away just as a bird flies away leaving its nest after having built it".
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
