Book Title: Ten Universal Virtues
Author(s): Ram Kumar Nandi
Publisher: Ram Kumar Nandi

View full book text
Previous | Next

Page 84
________________ Of all possessions is Himsa' The word 'tyag' is derived from the root 'tyaj' by the addition of the suffix 'gham'. The word renunciation means to cast aside, to give up, to get rid of, to discard and to leave. Some wise men have said: 'In this world it is not what we take up but what we give up, that makes us rich.' Renunciation has been assigned a great significance in the path of salvation propounded by the omniscient Lord Jinendra. Therefore, for householders renunciation implies charities; and for the ascetics it signifies the vow of 'Pratigraha' i.e., abstention from greed of worldly possessions and the virtue of freedom from attachments. One who cherishes the feeling of renunciation without letting one's energies lie dormant, paves the way to attainment of "Tirthankar Prakriti' i.e., the state of final liberation or salvation. "Vyutsarjanam vyutsrgstyaga" means renunciation. To acknowledge the non-self as different from self and then to become non-attached to all worldly objects or to discard the non-self is renunciation. Vrishtrbina kuto maigha, kav sasyam bijvartam Jivanam ch bina tyagat, sukhmupadyate kuta I.e., How can rainfall be possible without clouds? How can corn grow without sowing seeds? Likewise, how can the living beings attain bliss without renunciation? Every living creature is aspirant for happiness. This happiness is an outcome of renunciation. When a thing is fully and whole-heartedly given in charity to others, it is called renunciation. If someone desires a return in exchange for a thing donated or wants to get it back after once giving it to others as charity; or donates something to others after getting his name inscribed on it, it is not called renunciation. Only that can be called as giving, which is given to the poor. All other giving is of the nature of barter. Renunciation lends greatness to a man. Lord Bahubali followed the path of renunciation and attained his cherished goal. He conquered the kingdom of the sovereign king Bharat and returned it to him thereafter without a hitch. How great was the feeling of renunciation in his outlook on life! He was the noble soul, who laid down the foundation of this grand Indian tradition of returning a kingdom after once conquering it; which has become an immortal heritage of Indian culture to the coming generations. Lord Ram also won over Lanka after defeating Ravan, and then he renounced it by crowning Vibhishan the king of Lanka. In the modern age also we see that our worthy Prime Minister of India, Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri won the war against Pakistan but soon after returned the vast territory of Pakistan conquered by our jawans. Likewise, in Bangla-Pakistan war, Bangladesh triumphed as a result of the open support and huge military aid of India; but Shrimati Indira Gandhi handed over Bangladesh to her people. First, to conquer and then to return the conquered land to her people has been the noble tradition of this land; for we are the staunch followers of the religion of renunciation. Rightly has it been said; "A Create PDF with PDF4U. If you wish to remove this line, please click here to purchase the full version

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114