Way of Life Part 4

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

Page 65

DISCOURSE 77
who deprecate sacred vows and take delight in ignorance, understand the greatness of sacred vows or true knowledge ?
YOUR SELFISHNESS - YOUR HAPPINESS
Those who are ignoble in their conduct; and who do not take and carry out sacred vows are afflicted with weakness, sick
ss, worries, dissatisfaction, agitations, fears and doubts. How pitiable is the condition of the families that are caught in the grips of ignorance and indifference with respect to sacred vratas or vows! The confounding conflicts of selfish motives and desires continue from the beginning to the end; do not they ? Everyone tries to fill his own lap. Can we see anywhere that deep and strong affection and cordiality for which man yearns and pines; and for which he establishes a home ?
There is no light of knowledge; there is no fragrance of self-discipline.... What a pitiable situation has arisen! People wear expensive and attractive dress; they wear precious ornaments; they deck themselves with various, glorious articles of decoration; and they keep wandering about to produce on others the impression that they possess beauty and prosperity. In order to show the miracle of wealth and pomp, they build magnificent bungalows. They maintain expensive cars; they decorate their houses luxuriously; they buy T.V's, videos, fridges, fiates and phones. They do all these things to exhibit their wealth, pomp, material success and financial status and to beat the drums of their prosperity; and thus they squander away money recklessly.
They amass wealth by unfair means; and waste it on such futilities.
Man, to-day, is intelligent no doubt; but his foolishness is not inconsiderable. How can intelligent people be foolish ? What a strange juxtaposition of disagreeing opposites !
THE DUET OF IGNORANCE AND INDISCIPLINE !
Ignorance and indiscipline (or the absence of self-discipline) have steeped man in the confounding meshes of suspense,