Page 93 - Desire to Disaster

passions? In the birth of the deer, Rupsen was filled with this
kind of stupefying attachment for Sunanda.

No wonder then, that despite getting crushed underneath a
falling wall, dying in the womb, getting killed as a snake, a
crow and a swan, Rupsen could not and would not come to his
senses. His love for and infatuation with Sunanda’s beautiful
face had become the driving force of his worldly sojourn.
Despite suffering so badly, his obsession with Sunanda’s
beauty was undiminished. Reborn as a deer, Rupsen continued
to stalk Sunanda. As a consequence, he was shot down by
an arrow. The tragedy of Rupsen’s soul continued unabated.
Such was the power of the attachment that Rupsen felt for
Sunanda. It kept deceiving him and pushing him headlong
into disaster after disaster.

Lack of Self-Control Awakens the Serpent of Attachment

Just look at the tragic story scripted by karma! Within
Sunanda’s lifespan, the soul of Rupsen has died and taken
birth so many times! What caused this self-perpetuating
tragedy to manifest itself repeatedly? The absence of self-
control would repeatedly awaken the hitherto dormant
serpent of attachment. The venom of this powerful serpent
led to constant grief and cruelly tragic circumstances in the
incarnations of Rupsen’s soul.

Therefore, one who seeks self-realisation should root out the
lack of self-control in order to keep a check on the rise of
attachment and aversion in his soul.
Question : Does the lack of self-control cause attachment?
If you state that attachment is the result of lack
of self-control, would the absence of self-control
have arisen in the absence of attachment? If so,
the supremely detached ones, the Vitaraga souls,
would also suffer from the lack of self-control.

Desire to Disaster 93