Page 83 - Desire to Disaster

Inner Awakening

Inner awakening means that a person wakes up from the
slumber of ignorance and realises that he is about to drown
in the cesspool of endless sañsāra. He realises that there is
no reason to be arrogant about anything. Because worldly
achievements count for nothing in the spiritual world. He
realises that his attachment for non-living things like wealth,
property, etc. is nothing but folly. He knows that the human
form is innately pure and meant for use as a vehicle to attain
liberation. To use this human body to indulge in sensual
delectations, and for increasing one’s attachment and aversion
through sinful conduct is not only stupid, it is also shameful.
Desire is insatiable. It is the enemy of your soul. Should you
then strengthen your desire by sensual indulgence? Would it
not be counter productive, and harm your eternal self, the
soul? It is well known that attachment and aversion lead to
so many acts of madness and irrationality which lead to grief
and sorrow. What complicates things further is that sensual
indulgence does not fulfil any need. And worse, sensual
indulgence leads to increase in your cycle of transmigration.
Hence, it is known as ‘rāga-mūdha-daśā’ (a state of stupidity
brought on by unbridled attachment).
The Elephant’s Thought Process

Once you start thinking about the whole pattern of sensual
indulgence leading to more and more rebirths, you are bound
to come to the realisation that dharma is the only way to break
away from this chain of bondage. Awareness is essential. The
elephant was an animal. But his inner self had awakened. He
had now realised who he was and was determined to pay
heed to Sādhvī Sunanda’s teachings. Despite being an animal,
he could sense the unselfish compassion of the nun.

He thought to himself that, “Wow! Look how lucky I am!
Here I was, living in the jungle, behaving wildly. How
Desire to Disaster 83