On seeing Ravan’s dead body in the battlefield, the monkey brigade asked Laxman, “How was Ravan’s body pierced into more than a thousand places?” Laxman answered, “Ram’s arrows made it possible.” Then, they asked Ram. Ram just smiled and said, “No weapon, however powerful, nor any soldiers, however skilled in the art of warfare, can kill a person. It is only when a person’s sinful deeds surface can this happen as it happened to Ravan.
Whenever we indulge ourselves in unnecessary attachments, we become entrapped into a web from which there is no escape and thus make ourselves susceptible to a personal downfall. We could be most fearless, but without rational thinking we yield to senseless attachments; thus leading to a point of no return. When influenced by attachments, we are ruled by illogical thinking and egoistic attitude. Our pride obstructs our way to appropriate thinking and action. Whenever we dwell on our wealth, we desire to control others. This arrogant behavior leads to our downfall. There are four kinds of attachments:
- Attachment to possessions,
- Attachment to one’s physical body and beauty,
- Attachment to family, that could lead to supporting the wrong behavior of one’s near and dear and
- Attachment to money or the desire to own more wealth through unfair means - for example, a person does not mind dealing with the sale and consumption of meat and alcohol that are against Jainism.
The most dangerous act of violence is committed in the heat of the moment. Jainism teaches us to control our emotions. An emotionally distraught person acts without regard to the consequences of his/her action. Violent thoughts like ill will for others, harmful and sarcastic words, and demonstration of superiority can lead to violent actions. Attachments lead to violent thoughts. The lamp of consciousness goes under darkness with one shadow of attachment’s thread. To remove this darkness, we need to break the thread of attachment. We can achieve this goal by applying the following principles in our lives:
- Intaking the food of virtues,
- Removing the toxin of viciousness and
- Living forever with purity.
Until we change our lifestyle, we cannot step forward into the field of Non-violence. To bring a tremendous and positive change in our lifestyle, His Holiness, Acharya Mahapragya has always inspired us to open two factories: 1) An ice factory in our brain to handle any situation with coolness, and 2) A sugar factory on our tongue to speak gently and politely. Finally, we must remove ourselves from physical, mental, and emotional attachments. These goals will assist us in changing our lifestyles and to begin our walk on the path to Right Vision.