Acharya Tulsi
Three persons were waiting to be interviewed. The officer called them to his chamber by turn. He asked them innumerable questions. An important question among them was, "What do you get by adding two to two?" The first interviewee replied, "Two plus two make four." The second interviewee said "Two and two make twenty-two." The third person said, "Two and two make four and also twenty-two." The interviewing officer gave his judgement "The first person is a gentleman, the second person is clever and the third person is intelligent." The third person was appointed.
The relative approach gives the direct solution to a large number of problems in the domain of thought. The one-sided insistence compels a person to wander about like a dark shadow. From that point of view, every phase in our journey of thought should be close to the pluralistic approach. If there is the solid ground of pluralistic approach in our thinking, reading or speaking becomes meaningful. Otherwise, the person looking for sandalwood by way of solution finds himself in the grip of serpents so that he almost loses his consciousness.
Jainism is a philosophy which has the soul as the central point. The soul is a formless existence. It cannot be seen nor can it be known by touching. It can be only experienced through transcendental knowledge. Deep sadhana is the requirement both for transcendental knowledge and awareness about the soul. As a matter of fact, inevitability of sadhana cannot be ruled out for proceeding in any field whatever. The sadhana is not devoid of thoughts in the process of sadhana. At that time, such ideas come to his mind that he feels agitated and also inspires others. Some people seek to extend those ideas for their personal happiness, whereas there are some people who lo it in order to make those ideas mere communicable.
The Quest for the Royal Road (English translation of Rajpath ki Khoj, in Hindi) is a collection of articles prepared with a view to communicate ideas. Even a traveller who walks along the pathways can reach his destination. But he is not free from anxiety. He cannot be sure when he would stray from the pathway and he may move farther away from his destination. But the one who travels along the highway is not only free from anxiety, he is also well aware about how much distance he has been able to traverse. From this point of view, the highway is important even for short journeys. And, when one wants to reach the ultimate goal of life, the usefulness of the highway is self-evident.
The ultimate goal for man is freedom from bondage or realisation of the self. A comprehensive view, comprehensive knowledge and comprehensive behaviour, combined together, make the highway leading towards this goal. Contact with pious people and the pursuit of good literature are necessary to develop a comprehensive outlook. Those who are desirous of discovering the right path during the course of their life, should definitely devotie their life to the pursuit of good literature.
The Quest for the Royal Path is not a literary journey that may contain an orderly flow of ideas. Whenever the need of the occasion led me to put down my ideas into writing, the chief Sadhvi Kanak Prabha preserved them carefully. But by bit they were all linked together and a book was compiled. Preserving the ideas carefully is also an art, apart from its being the result of one's ability to preserve. Had there been no such correct combination of ability and art, we would not be having this work, The Quest for the Royal Path before us. From this point of view, the readers should be grateful to Sadhvi Kanak Prabha's ability to co-ordinate these ideas. This compilation is only a fresh presentation of the contents of the two Hindi books Vichar Veedhi (The Corridor of Ideas) and Vichar-Deergha (Gallery of Ideas). After omitting a few essays in those books, the rest of the material has been compiled in a new form.
It is said that the one who is on the right path, never feels dejected. If one thinks in the light of this aphorism, every individual needs to find a path. If this work, The Quest of the Royal Path is able to help any reader find his path, its title would be justified. This justification alone would be its usefulness and its worth.
-Acharya Tulsi
Churu,
22 February, 1987
