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his teacher. King Janak said, "I don't want any present. However, if you insist, offer me something seemingly without utility." Sukh Deva set out in search of some worthless looking thing. The soil, the leaves, all things seemed to have their own utility. No material appeared to be with no utility. He began to ponder over the whole matter. He felt that pride in body alone is of no use. He said to King Janak, "I want to offer you my pride in body.” King Janak said, “Now you are blessed. People regard bodily pride the most dear to them in the world and stick to it. You found it totally worthless; he alone who gets this vision by God's mercy is really blessed."
The noble minded person who is not the least proud of ancestry, beauty, tribe and clan, learning or education, penance, knowledge of scriptures and chastity is gifted with compassion or supreme tenderness (Uttama Mardava Dharma).
Kulrujadibhudhisu tvsudsilesu garvam kinchi jo nrvi kuchdi samanro madvdhamm haave tsya
He, who is not proud or vain in spite of being highly learned and a supreme ascetic, possesses the jewel of compassion or tenderness (Mardav). A person regards himself superior to others as a result of the mental outlook developed due to the extreme feeling of family pride created by karma, which is of no use; for sometimes his own vanity is shattered by his own children. It has been said:
Dharma vasenmamsi yavdalam sa tabadhanta n hanturapi pashya gataith tasmin Drishta prasparhatirjankatmajanam, raksha tatosya jagta kharlu dharm ev.
I.e., So long as this feeling of compassion or tenderness (Mardava Dharma) persists in human mind, a person does not hurt even his own persecutor; and when his mind deserts this feeling of compassion, even father and son have been seen killing each other. Hence this world can be saved only when we possess the virtue of compassion (Mardava Dharma).
A man, failing to make a distinction between right or wrong and what is worth doing or not, is enveloped by the darkness of vanity and takes recourse to the evil path leaving the wanted right path. When good luck (Punya Karma) comes into existence, he becomes highly puffed up with pride forgetting that as an outcome of this vanity he will have to suffer disgrace in the lower state of births.
A mad person stood in the middle of the road. A car came from behind and the car owner began to sound the horn. When the man did not budge from the road, the Seth cried, "O blind man! Can't you see? Move aside from the middle of the road." The mad man spoke, "O Seth! Sitting in this tin box, your car, you are filled with so much vanity. I stand on this earth which is full of precious jewels. Still I am not proud in the least. Go away keeping this tin box on your head."
As a result of good actions of previous births a man gets a bit of material prosperity and worldly wealth in life. If one or two cars stand in front of his door, the man becomes so vain and proud that he begins to think that others are no matches to him. Regarding other persons insignificant and worthless due to this feeling of vanity brings ruin in his life. As a result of this sin he is thrown into the deadly hell. An easy way of escape from it is
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