004. Change the fate by the EFFORTS

Change the fate by the EFFORTS
Once there were two friends. One day a discussion was going on between them. One suggested to go to temple and to spend the whole night in the worship of Jinendra Veetrag Bhagwan, singing holy hymns and thinking about the reality of self and soul. But the other one refused this idea. He was of the view that Devadarshan etc. is meaningless. Man gets nothing in his life by following the path of religion. I think, he said, ``We should go to the house of some prostitute and enjoy a feast of luxuries there.'' But the former one did not accept this proposal as he was a noble and religious person. He tried to convince his friend that it is through religious and noble deeds that man's all sins are destroyed and he gets mental peace and happiness that leads to the purity of soul. So Deva-darshana is a bliss for everybody. On the other hand, the bad habit of prostitution leads man to moral degeneration and disgrace in society. The immoral relation with woman deprives him of all merits (Punyas) and all the sins stand in his way. He always feels tense and perplexed. He is cursed by other people for his bad actions. Even after his death, he is not able to get rid of miseries and troubles. So one should avoid such things. But the other friend argued that man feels a great pleasure in the company of a woman that is not possible from Jina darshana. The noble deeds make man happy in the life after death. Who knows the reality of rebirth ? Therefore, one should enjoy this life in merry-making and worldly pleasures. The discussion continued for a long time, but no one was ready to surrender, The rellgious friend spent his night in the temple in the meditation of God and the other friend spent his night in the company of a prostitute.

In the morning while coming back, the devout of God had a great pain in his foot due to thorns, while the other got a bag of 1000 rupees. When they met, the seond friend mocked at him and said laughing, ``I have the double profit as the company of a woman and one thousand rupees. What have you have got ? ``He told how he spent his whole night in the temple in the worship of God, but had a thorn while returning from the temple.'' The other friend satarized, ``Friends, who has seen another life ? Who experiences the fruits of religion and merits in the life after death ? This conception `birth, death, rebirth' is unreal. Man should spend his life in ``eat, drink and be merry, You gained nothing even after performing noble activities.'' But the first friend was firm in his faith in religion. He said, ``The adaptation of dharma in real sense is not to invite the problems but to destroy the previous sins. The seeds of sins never bear the fruits of happiness and peace as to think of coldness from fire is foolishness. The commitment of sins brings only miseries and griefs. As the Sun never rises in the west similarly the path of religion never leads us to sufferings. The path of religion is the path of eternal peace and happiness.'' At last, after a long discussion they decided to go to some saint for decision. They went to a Nirgrantha Avadhigyani Muni. They paid their due respects and conveyed their problem. The Muni spoke in very explanatory words. He addressed the seond friend, ``As the result of the good deeds (punyas) of your previous life you would have gained the authority of a kingdom but your sins have minimized your merits only to a small amount of 1000 rupees.'' Now the saint addressed the noble friend, ``As the result of tour sins in previous life, you would have been hanged today, but your religious activity saved you and reduced your great sins only to the pricking of a small thorn. So this is the play of punya and papa karma. What we think or do, whether good and bad, we should be mentally prepared to bear its results in this life or the coming one. In this way our duty is to think good and to do good to others and self.'' Both of them were inspired by the preachings of Muni. The wicked fellow began to follow the path of religion and nobility, realising the aweful results of sins. The good fellow on the other hand became all the more sincere and devoted to religion, knowing the results of merit and demerit from the ideal Jain Muni. As—

पापाद् दु:खं धर्मात्सुखमिति सर्वजनसुप्रसिद्धमिदम् । तस्माद्विहाय पापं चरतु सुखार्थी सदा धर्मम् ।।(८)

Demerit produces pain; happiness follows truth (dharma). This is well known to all. Therefore, the man who desires happiness should always refrain from sins and follow Dharma. Again—

सुखितस्य दु:खितस्य च संसारे धर्म एव तव कार्य:। सुखितस्य तदभिवृद्ध्यै दु:खभुजस्तदुपघाताय।।१८।। आत्मानुशासन

Whether happy or miserable in this world, they must exercise piety if happy to increase happiness, and if miserable to remove misery. Kabirdas has rightly said :

दु:ख में सुमिरन सब करें, सुख में करे न कोय। जो सुख में सुमिरन करें, तो दु:ख काहे को होय।।

It is the tendency of every human being that he worships God only at the time of misery and difficulty. Being happy, he forgets the name of Bhagwan and gets lost in the worldly pleasures. This selfishness and negligence destroys his punyakarma and calamities fall down on him. It is a fact that if man ever keeps in his heart the sacred image of God and never forgets him, the sufferings never come in his way. He feels physically and mentally satisfied and happy. These noble and religious deeds contribute much in his further life. So the religion is a boon for suffering humanity, while the path of adharma brings only mental disturbance, disputes and other serious problems. Even in future (the coming life) man has to suffer a lot due to his sins and misdeeds.

No one can deny the fact that sometimes even the most noble and religious persons suffer much, and the evil-doers enjoy a lot of comforts and conveniences, But remember for a short period of life. Never think that religion bestows griefs and calamities in return. It is due to some previous dushkarmas (misdeeds) that the noble persons suffer in present. For example, a man having the monthly income of Rs. 3000/- is suffering economically. Its reason is that his expenses are more than his limited income. Like that if a man is suffering while leading a noble and religious life, its reason is his pre-earned pap-karmas (non-virtuous acts) and not the good efforts of today. Similarly, if a man, indulged in evil activities, prospers and succeeds in every field of life it is not due to Adharma but due to the merits (punyas) of previous life. As in young age a man deposits his money in the bank, and in his old age he becomes the owner of a large amount of money. In this way, we can conclude with the wrods that wickedness may prosper for some time but ultimately it is perished and destroyed forever. The goodness or nobility may suffer but ultimately it is gifted with supreme pleasure and luxuries. This is the essential truth of our life that we should understand and follow.