Page 12 - Desire to Disaster

Attraction!

Look at the cascading effect of attachment. Once, Rupsen,
the son of a prominent merchant, was sitting in front of a
pān shop. He was young, handsome, and of the same age as
Sunanda. Once Sunanda saw him and continued to gaze at
him, from behind the window. Coincidentally, when Rupsen
glanced up, he saw Sunanda and he too was attracted.

Both were drowning in each other’s glances, and fell in love.
They forgot the time-honoured Indian tradition of not staring
at members of the opposite gender not related to us. Both of
them reacted to each other’s presence in a way that flared the
attachment that was lying dormant within them. Sunanda was
more assertive. She was impatient to know more about the
handsome young man who had captured her heart. She sent
her maid to find out who he was. And through her, she learnt
that he was the fourth son of the leading merchant of the city.
She sent a message to him, saying, “Please come here every
day. I like you very much. So please come to this shop here
and allow me to see you.”

Identifying a Woman

Is there anything left to say? Who is more content, man or
woman? The omniscient lord, and many other thinkers of this
noble land have given some characteristics of women. Let us
consider them.

It is not that men do not practise deceit. And it is not that
women cannot practise penance. But we are going by what
is commonly observed. We find many men who lose many
opportunities of purifying the soul simply because they were
influenced and manipulated by women. In colleges these days,
a girl deceives many boys. If you look at city streets, you will
find many ladies dressed like film stars or models, because
they want to attract men. If you look at homes you will find

12 Desire to Disaster