Page 61 - Desire to Disaster

soul, when it falls in love, becomes incapable of doing
anything else or thinking else.

Ignorance and Folly
Most of us are unable to realise the fickleness and
capriciousness of sañsāra, and consider sensuous pleasures
and material acquisitions to be lasting and permanent.
Worldly beings remain trapped in sañsāra because they are
unable to realise the above truths. They chase the ephemeral
highs of sensuous pleasure and ignore the eternal bliss that
accompanies self-realisation.
Rupsen wasted several lifetimes on his obsession with
Sunanda’s beautiful face. And he remained true to form.
Instead of running away when he saw the king pick up his
bow and arrow, he remained poised in one place, glancing at
the queen’s beauteous countenance with rapt attention. While
the other deer bounded away in alarm, this fellow did not
move a muscle. He was completely oblivious to the fatal
danger that he was exposed to.
The king told his wife that she was indeed lucky that such
a fine animal had come up to them, almost as if he were
begging to be shot dead by an arrow. He told her that he was
about to shoot the deer dead. He calmly shot the deer.

The Deer is shot

The hard steel arrow invaded the deer’s soft body. Instantly,
the gently swaying deer collapsed on the ground. He was in
immense pain. The arrow was causing him excruciating pain.
But who would pull out the arrow from his body?

The king and his family were gazing at the dying deer and
congratulating themselves on their spectacular catch.

The deer was dying, and the person he loved the most was
a silent witness to his murder. His anguish and intense pain
Desire to Disaster 61