Page 74 - Desire to Disaster

avadhijñāna {clairvoyance}. She could now see in to her own
and others’ past lives.

Rupsen reborn as an Elephant
Through her clairvoyance, Sunanda saw the Rupsen had been
reborn as an elephant and was living in the jungles of the
Vindhya Mountain region. She also learnt that the elephant
was a wild one and known to go to the neighbouring village
and cause destruction there. He would also beat up humans
who were foolish enough to come within his range.

Sādhvī Sunanda felt great compassion for Rupsen’s soul. She
thought to herself, “Poor fellow! Look at what he has been
reduced to...As Rupsen he bound a lot of sinful karmas. And
now, reborn as an elephant, he is causing so much destruction
of life and property! What will happen to him, if he continues
to sin in this manner?

Consequences of Sin

One feels compassion for Rupsen! As a rich merchant’s son,
he led a luxurious, self-indulgent life. He was unable to
control his emotions and fell headlong in love with Princess
Sunanda. His infatuation with Sunanda’s beauty brought him
disaster after disaster, and grief after grief. And now the same
inability was causing him to behave in an extremely rowdy
and violent manner.

A sinner does not know the consequences of his sins. One
visible sin paves the way for a hundred sins. The worldly soul
carries the seeds of sin with it during its incarnations. The
seeds lay dormant till they find favourable circumstances.
Once favourable circumstances are reached, the dormant
seeds of sin become active and cause further trouble.

Sensual indulgence harms the soul. And results in the inflow
of karmas. Overindulgence of the senses leads to:

74 Desire to Disaster