Page 48 - Desire to Disaster

rapidly towards her and assumed that it was about to bite her!
She ran away to save her life. The snake rushed after her. As
Sunanda glanced back, she saw that the snake was following
her. Panicked, she shouted to her palace guards for help and
ran away in fear.

The Soldier with the sword
Hearing Sunanda’s anguished cry for help, a guard ran over
with his sword held ready. But the snake was so deeply
infatuated with Sunanda’s beauty that he continued to slither
towards her. He was impervious to all else. He ignored the
soldier with his raised sword and rushed after Sunanda. Such
is the blindness caused by intense attachment!

In our day to day lives, we strengthen our attachment through
uncontrolled behaviour. And this had terrible consequences.
Precisely this kind of attachment compelled the snake to chase
after Sunanda. He did not stop to think what would happen
to him if he continued to chase her. He was beyond caring
whether the attachment would help him or harm him.

How can one break away from sin and sinfulness?

All we understand is that one should not commit sin as
they cause sorrow. Hence, the reason to stay away from
sinfulness is to avoid future sorrows. This is a primary level
understanding. It cannot help the soul break away from sin
and sinfulness.

In reality, we need to break away from sin. But not out of
the fear of sorrow. Hence, fear is not the right deterrent to
hold us back from sin. So strong is our predilection towards
attachment that even the fear of hell cannot sometimes hold
us back from committing the most heinous sins. How then,
could one break away from sin?

One needs to understand and realise the truly alarming

48 Desire to Disaster