Lord Mahavir commanded a vision of all time—the past, the present and the future. He knew man’s disposition and he knew its consequences. He did not arrive at the truth on the basis of facts; he experienced truth directly. He gave us the doctrine of Anekant (None—Absolutism) in which there is no insistence on a particular aspect Instead, there is flexibility. Anekant presents a synthesis of all points—of—view. The nectar of truth comes to him, who, while advancing along a path, also knows how to retrace his steps. The non-understanding of this truth is today’s greatest problem.
There are two kinds of men-those who are attached to material things, and those who are disillusioned with them. Those traversing the path of attachment, give a free rein to their ambitions. Their ambitions get so inflated that later it becomes impossible for them to disengage themselves. The whole of a man’s life is submerged in desire. Such a man does not live by himself; the acquisition of material goods becomes the sole objective of his life. When matter dominates man’s life. It is bound to give rise to problems. Attachment in itself is a problem. The solution to this problem lies not in the extension of desire, but in its control. Only he who gets disenchanted with material things can traverse the path of discipline.
Those who have taken to the path of detachment and are determined to proceed along this path must keep out of the way of temptation. Material objects are only means of fulfilling the needs of life—when this feeling is dominant, one does not fall a prey to unconsciousness. But when material objects in themselves become the object of life. Man's approach changes. This latter point-of-view makes altogether change the acquisitive mentality.
The Flowering of sadhana is not to be found through self-will, addiction to ease or acquisitiveness. With the realisation of this truth, faith is awakened in discipline, assiduousness and none—acquisitiveness. By assimilating this maxim of faith in his life, a sadhak nears his destination.