As long as one is in this world, one is surrounded by necessities. For life to be active and functional, certain things are necessary. It is never possible that the body remains functional without any needs.

Let us examine this. We are often confused between what one desires and what one needs. When a person strives to satisfy his desires, his energies are directed to that end. As he fulfi ls one, the next one rears its ugly head. As this goes on, he is engulfed by the endless cycle of desires. Not knowing how to limit his desires, not knowing which one to fulfi l and which one to ignore, he is trapped into trying to fulfi l each one. Thus, enslaved by his wants and cravings, he spends his life in worthless pursuits.

The mind longs to fi nd a solution to fulfil needs. Otherwise, how can one survive in this world? All religions accept this. Any religion that does not, cannot sustain for long. But let us clearly understand that desires are not needs and it is from ignorance about this distinction that the endless confl icts in this world arise. When desires are confused with needs, a person is consumed by the demon of greed. Then crossing the threshold of humanity, he destroys his own life as well as that of others. Hence, this distinction between needs and desires has been respected and emphasized by all religions.

Jainism is a religion that propounds renunciation. Remaining steadfast in austerities, the cleansing of sins is accomplished by the pure waters of knowledge.

The Jaina ideal paints a worthy picture of life before our eyes. It propels the aspirant to move ahead by urging, “You are not just where you think you are. You are not merely at the point where you fi nd yourself today. Your present position is not the destination of tomorrow. You have to walk on until the path exists no more. The family in which you fi nd yourself is not the extent of your responsibility. Your journey does not end there. You have a long journey ahead. Your journey will transport you beyond this fi nite circle to merge into the larger world where you will encounter the vastness of your soul.”

It is when man merges with the universe, when he transcends from the limited to the limitless, when the waves of love and non-violence rise from his soul to embrace all, that godliness awakens in him. He who attains this godliness is worshipped as God or Arhan. This is the supreme Jaina ideal which aims at uprooting the corruptions of one’s past.

This religion of the arhans is not plain idealism, it is realistic as well. Idealism has the power to inspire, but not to progress. How can one survive in this world with idealistic imaginations? Better off is the one who treads gently on earth than he who fl ies in the sky of imagination. He may walk less, but at least he has walked. It is important to have an ideal, since without it, a journey has no destination. Likewise the ideal needs a journey to reach fulfi lment, otherwise it is an empty shell.

Dazed by the realm of idealism, do not forget the ground on which man rests his feet. The eyes may reach distances afar, but not the feet. They both cannot traverse the same distance. The eyes may embrace the distant mountain peak within the span of a second and the mind may be tempted to reach there as well, but the feet cannot keep up with their swift companions. This chasm between the eyes and the feet is the dichotomy between idealism and realism. Jainism teaches us beautifully and effectively how to strike this fi ne balance. As long as a person is rooted in worldly life, family and community are part of his reality, as is the nation to which he belongs. He cannot consider himself an autonomous entity removed from these. Since he cannot separate himself from these, he cannot ignore their needs, nor forget them. If he did, he would lose himself as well. Such is the reality of responsibility, of life itself.

So it is that the scriptures speak of the vow of limiting one’s desires (icchā parimāṇa), but not of limiting one’s needs (āvaśyakatā parimāṇa). Necessities are a reality, not to be forgotten, not to be ignored. Verily, if something can be ignored, or forgotten, it is not a necessity, it is a desire. It is only desire which can be given up.

You must remain vigilant, because fl ights of imagination and ambition can lead you to believe that your desires are a necessary part of your existence. And thus a web of desires is woven, each craving to be fulfi lled. You become enslaved by your desires and create a negative energy in your life. Jainism teaches us to nip in the bud those desires which grow wildly beyond our necessities. He who is content with the fulfi lment of his necessities is a worthy aspirant indeed. He enriches his own life as well as that of others. On the contrary, he who is discontent and desires endlessly treats his life like a vehicle without a brake - a dangerous vehicle that will crush him as well as others.

Jainism says that the vehicle of life has to be driven, but within limits. Vigilance and control are a must if you want your journey to be peaceful and productive. Do not drive recklessly over others. If your self-interest clashes with another’s, then stop to consider. Drive within your boundaries so that thousands of vehicles can move in harmony. Or else, there will be chaos.

Where there is control, there is vigilance, there is discrimination and therein lies the dictum of non-possessiveness.

This was Ānanda’s solution to his confl ict. The control of desires. He accumulated wealth, but did not expand it further. He put an end to his desires and attachment by adopting a simple practice. He told himself, “I will not increase my wealth nor will I keep any more than this.” In this manner, his life was blessed by contentment, by icchā parimāṇa.

The confl ict prevalent in today’s world is not just of today – it has existed since time immemorial. Try to get to its roots, and you will see for yourself that its primary reason is the prevalence of desires. The world wars that have shaken the world may have had other reasons as well, but the primary reasons were the unlimited desires of man.

The bloodshed of millions has been caused due to this bottomless pit of desires. When man tried to expand his desires beyond the scope of where his feet could reach, he sowed the seeds of confl ict. As his feet trespassed on what was not his, confl ict began. For those who have limited facilities and power, their confl ict is on a limited scale, their boundary is limited as well. But for those who are powerful, confl icts cross limits and often take on an all-pervading form. Why did the battle of Mahābhārata happen? It was a battle that killed great warriors of India like moths in a fl ame, a fl ame that engulfed the culture, civilization, bravery and glory of the country. It was a war that spread darkness and converted a religious land into a graveyard. Destruction of such magnitude only because of unlimited desires!

Let me narrate an analogy. Imagine that two brothers live their entire life from inherited property. In such a situation, how can they teach their children lessons of independence and self worth since they have never earned a living for themselves? Considering they do give those lessons to their children, then if at the end of their lives, they bequeath their large mansions to them, how can they justify what they have taught? I ask this because by bequeathing their wealth to the hildren, are they not in reality confusing them by causing an upheaval of the ideals taught to them?

When the wealth was divided between the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas, jealousy and greed crept in Duryodhana’s mind,“Why do my cousins have mansions of gold? All they had was a small kingdom. How have they progressed so much while my kingdom continues to remain as it is, without expanding even by an inch!”

Those who have not mastered the art of expanding their wealth and property resort to cunning manipulations and thievery. “Let me seize my brother’s property and make it mine”, they think. But this is not right, it is perverted thinking. Even if a person has a genuine need he should not resort to such actions.

A man who has no clothes steals from another to clothe himself. Is this a solution to poverty? No! Because although he has clothed himself, he has stripped another.

A naked man cannot make another naked by stealing his clothes nor can a hungry man steal another’s bread. So the wise option is to innovate methods to multiply resources. After all, in a world where the population is ever-increasing, if innovations in production are not implemented, how will the problem of haves and have-nots be solved?

Unfortunately, in India, not much attention is paid to production. Confl icts are never dealt with, always brushed aside under the carpet, and therefore, the vision of the self as part of a larger canvas is never created.

But imagine! If you learn that your life is made by none other than yourself, then you will learn the mantra of growth. You will then automatically transform the wealth that you have amassed into the larger resource pool, be it of the family, society or nation.

Since Duryodhana neither knew the art of production, nor endeavored to learn it, he was caught in the web of possessiveness from where arose gambling, injustice and torture. And what a nemesis it reached! He seized the kingdom of his brothers through deceit and treachery fi nally leading to a gory war. And history will tell us that the tragic outcome of war is always destruction.

Kṛṣṇā approaches Duryodhana and stands before him as a messenger. He who was no ordinary mortal, whose mere frown could cause deluges, sets aside his power and like an ordinary man, he stands as a messenger and begs Duryodhana for a pact of peace.

There have been many great politicians and many great speeches, but that rendering by the Blue God was exceptional. Preserved in history for posterity, it is something to be read and contemplated upon by all politicians and leaders.

In that speech of wisdom, Kṛṣṇā sheds light on how one must live one’s life and what one must make of one’s life. He pleads with Duryodhana, “It is my deepest wish that the Pāṇḍavas remain safe. It is also my earnest wish that the lives of the Kauravas achieve greatness. These palaces of gold are not meant to be razed down to ashes. If my words are not heeded, rivers of blood will fl ow; if you brothers begin to slay each other, then remember what I say today – my eyes shall shed more tears than all the blood you will spill on the battlefi eld. So Duryodhana, even if you cannot give the Pāṇḍavas their due, at least give them fi ve small villages. The five Pāṇḍavas will listen to me and live their lives peacefully.”

Such are the great moments in history. The Pāṇḍavas were ready to accept just fi ve villages out of that dynasty for whose expansion they had once battled and won over the world. With just so little, they would manage their lives, not aspiring for more.

In this manner, a limit is set on desires. Those Pāṇḍavas who had lived in palaces of gold were now willing to reside in a hut. On the other hand stands Duryodhana entangled in his web of desires, not content with his own dynasty, not content after coveting the dynasty of another.

It is true that whoever is possessed by the demon of possessiveness becomes a madman. Once possessed, the demon takes control. There is no respite from it. Can a person possessed by such a strong power dare utter a word or do anything against it? Totally controlled, his life becomes not his to lead.

Duryodhana was completely possessed by this demon. To that humble request from Kṛṣṇā, he retorted, “Oh Keśava! You talk about giving away fi ve villages. I don’t know how large they may be, but I am not even willing to give away a needlepoint of land to the Pāṇḍavas. Nothing without war! I will part with nothing.”

Be it an emperor owning palaces of gold, or a snake coiled over a treasure, they echo the same insecurity, stemming from their obsessive desire to hold on to their possessions. Duryodhana stated the same, “I will not give away anything in my lifetime.” Attachment is always the cause of destruction.

It was this flaw in Duryodhana’s character that lead to the great battle of Mahābhārata where rivers of blood fl owed. This tendency to possess, the wish to part with nothing, to guard all possessions like a snake has been the web in which man has been caught since time out of memory.

Remember the story of Śreṇika and Kūṇika. What a wonderful relationship a father and son can share! How many aspirations and hopes a father builds for his son! The scriptures pronounce:

One would wish for defeat at the hands of his son i.e. he would feel pride if his son outshines him. So also does the teacher feel towards his student.

In the whole world, there are two spheres where one steps back happily to make place for another. One is the sphere of family, and the other that of religion. Father and son stand in the sphere of family and master and disciple stand in the sphere of religion. A master aspires to see his disciple move ahead, beyond what he has learnt from him and seeing the disciple thus, fi lls him with joy. In his disciple’s increasing fame, the teacher fi nds his own fame, feels honoured and sees the success of his own life.


In the family sphere, between the father and son, this emotion is even more intensified. Why does a man earn? Ask him and he will answer, “Whatever I do is for my family, for my children.” What this means is that he has erased his identity and merged it with that of his children. Thus he sets his mind to enhance the life of his children. He directs all his energies towards that goal, forgetting himself in the process. The father may live in a hut, but if his son makes a palace of gold, he feels no sorrow, no jealousy. He may not be able to bear his neighbour’s success, he may even try to put a spoke in that wheel, but his son’s success gives him immense joy.

And the same goes for his son. He is secure in the knowledge that his father would only aspire for him and not any stranger. After all, whatever the father begets today, the son is bound to inherit tomorrow.

In this manner, much intimacy is seen between a father and son. But alas! the web of possessiveness. It has changed this nectar into poison. Wherever the tendency of possessiveness increases and desires spread without any limit, there even nectar becomes poison, and bitterness creeps into the intimacy. Destruction laughs out loud. Possessiveness is the core of all sins.

King Śreṇika is becoming old, and his son Kūṇika, who is now a young man, feels restless. The desire to rule the kingdom slowly creeps into his mind – he is now waiting to see the empty throne. He thinks, “What a misfortune that my father is not dying! It is time for him to die and for me to rule the kingdom.” Selfi shness distorts the vision of life and makes a man blind.

King Śreṇika is counting the last hours of his life. Even if longevity favours him, he can barely survive a year or two. And then Kūṇika will get the throne. There is no doubt about that. He is the heir-apparent. But Kūṇika wants the throne much before his time; he dreams of being seated on it day and night.

Why is Kūṇika so restless? It is not as though he is dying of hunger or cold. The grandeur of the empire lies at his feet, for him to use as he pleases, as much as he wishes. There are no limits set upon him. All his needs and wants are taken care of. It is not as if the old Śreṇika is tight-fi sted and gives nothing to his son. The empire is under the control of the son; Śreṇika is just the namesake ruler and sits upon the throne for an hour or two everyday.

But Kūṇika is caught in the web of desires. Restless for the throne, his thoughts turn ugly, “Oh! What do I do with Father? He neither embraces renunciation nor death! He has heard the teachings of the Tīrthaṅkaras long enough, but is yet not ready to relinquish the throne. If he does not renounce voluntarily, should he be made to do so? If death does not come to him, should he not be made to die?”

Thus, enslaved by his desires, Kūṇika plots against his father and locks him in the dungeons. What other choice exists for one so completely blinded by greed? Violence is born from possessiveness.

The great ruler of Magadha is thus counting the last days of his life in prison. Gone are those days when he used to give away diamonds and pearls on the streets enroute the abode of Lord Mahāvīra where he went to hear discourses. Today, that great ruler is a mere prisoner and his days are meaningless.

Meanwhile the son has seated himself on the throne. But what is the result of all this? Have his desires been fulfi lled? Has he found contentment? The answer is - No. Unrestrained desires never reach their end. The splendour of this world acts like fuel to the fi re of avarice. It only kindles the fl ame, never putting it out. So the religious scholars proclaim:

The more you get, the more you want; desire increases with every gain.

As one achieves more wealth and fame, avarice increases. Profit does not restrain greed, it only enhances it. Why is this so? The scriptures answer this question thus:

Just as the sky has no end and is infi nite, so also are desires limitless. A person who has thousands desires lakhs, and he who has lakhs desires crores. The king wants to become a monarch, the monarch wants to become an emperor. And an emperor wants other emperors to accept his sovereignty. Where is the peace? Contentment lies not in satiating desires, but in nipping them in the bud. One cannot fi nd contentment outside. It lies within the core of a person. It lies not in the treasury, it is a treasure by itself.

But like other mortals, Kūṇika too had not grasped this noble truth. Having imprisoned his old father, having conquered the throne, he was still restless. Now his eyes were fi xed upon his brothers. What did they have? A jewel and an elephant. A vast empire on one hand and just a piece of jewellery and an elephant on the other. Can the two really be compared?

One can say that the greed for the elephant and the jewel did not emerge in Kūṇika’s mind. It was instigated by his queen. Whether a person jumps into fi re of his own free will or at the instigation of another, is there a difference? The effect is the same. The cause is of no consequence. Either way, he has to suffer in the fl ames. The point is that when greed crept into Kūṇika’s heart, he ordered his brothers to hand over their possessions to him.

The brothers disagreed, “We have got no share of the empire. If you want even the jewel and the elephant from us, then give us a share of the throne.”

Kūṇika retorted, “I have not received the empire in charity. I have achieved it by myself. Therefore, you have no share in it.”

When such tendencies arise, when one wants to give nothing but take everything, then sharp daggers of avarice twist the mind. The brothers sought refuge with their maternal grandfather and this further angered Kūṇika. Now he made his grandfather an enemy too. Flames of war and violence always erupt from such negative tendencies.

There are many such people in this world who do not hesitate to trample over thousands of people to achieve their selfi sh goals. Their conscience remains unperturbed. What is this power that destroys one’s discrimination? Why does man become such a demon?

The question is - can this demon redeem itself? The answer to this question is an obvious ‘Yes’. By exercizing control over his desires, man can transform the demon within. He is then truly considered a saint. Such astonishing incidents exist in history.

There are many who shed the blood of their own kin and later become devotees to redeem themselves and regain lost respect. Kūṇika did the same. After committing numerous sins, he turned to Lord Mahāvīra for redemption. In fact, it is said that he would not drink even a sip of water until he got news of his master’s well being everyday.

Witness this scene. Thousands have gathered to hear the discourse of Lord Mahāvīra. Kūṇika aspires to end his life before the Lord so that he may go to heaven. “May my devotion cleanse my sins”, he prays ardently.

Yes, sins can be cleansed with devotion that is pure, but devotion does not reside along with a desire for fame and external gratification.

So it came to be that Kūṇika asked, “Lord, where will I go after my death?”

Mahāvīra answered, “Instead of asking this of me, ask yourself and hear the answer from within. The one who can answer your query resides within you. You have been given the knowledge about heaven and hell. Now ask your inner self where you will go next?”

One who sows wheat will reap only wheat, it cannot be that his harvest will reap millets instead. This is the law of nature. There has never been an exception to this rule, never any change. And through the passage of time, this truth will remain unchanged that good deeds procure good results and bad deeds procure bad results.

Whether this life is to be a demoniac one or a life divine has to be decided here, within the span of this very lifetime. One who realizes this truth clearly and truly will judge for himself which way to go. If a person has led a saintly life, then his next lifetime will be a blessed one. But if he has brought tears and grief to others around him and laughed at their pain, then such a person far from being a saint, is a demon. And what can be the destiny of such a person? He will be bereft of blessings and ridiculed in the moments of his suffering. Tell me, does he deserve better?

The desire is for heaven but if deeds are fi endish, then can one attain heaven? Wherever a person may be in this world, if his thoughts are pure, if he has diligently plucked out the thorns that have fallen in his path, if empathy has blossomed in his heart over the tears of another, then he will surely attain heaven.

Therefore, look at your life and introspect, and you will know what is going to become of your next life. Many persons who meet me ask, “What are we going to become in our next life?” I answer,“You don’t need a seer to know your next three lives.” But they are not convinced and believe that if they asked Sīmandhara Svāmī, they would get an answer. And I explain, “Why do you even need to go to Sīmandhara Svāmī? Whatever he says is based on the karmas. He will only reiterate what Lord Mahāvīra has expounded. And you have to invest your faith in that.”

Lord Mahāvīra has expounded the theory of why a soul takes birth as a human, animal, celestial or hellish being. There is no new knowledge to be gained there. Therefore, a person can have no diffi culty in knowing about his next three lives.

Scan your life until now and you will see that you have reaped as you have sown. He who has not done anything earlier will not get anything now, and he who does nothing in this moment gets nothing in the future. In this manner, the accounts of sins and virtues of three lifetimes are obvious right away. We don’t need a seer to know them. Through time immemorial, good deeds have procured good results and bad deeds, bad results.

Thus King Kūṇika inquired about his afterlife from Lord Mahāvīra and the Lord replied, “the answer to this query lies within yourself.” But when Kūṇika persisted on having his query answered, the Lord said, “Oh king, when you leave this body, you will go to the sixth hell.”

Kūṇika was devastated when he heard this. All his hopes were shattered. He was hoping that the Lord would mention a higher heaven. But the Lord whom he had asked the question was not one to humour a king. He wanted to buy the heavens from Mahāvīra, but heavens cannot be bought with coins nor with external religious pretence.

Kūṇika was astonished. He exclaimed, “Lord! I am such an ardent devotee of yours! Then why will I go to hell?”

But the question is - when did he become a devotee? Did he think about that? He who held his father captive, in whose flame the entire family was engulfed, who did not set any limit upon his desires and remained trapped in the fetters of possessiveness, where else can he go but to hell?

So, the most important thing is that a man who desires heaven and liberation must set a limit upon his earthly desires, conquer his passions and lead a life of contentment. Then his spirit is free from the fear of the future – he need ask no one about it. Lord Mahāvīra said: Examine your duties and see what you have done, what you are doing and what you ought to be doing?

Remember, your wrong doings will not change the map of your life; only good deeds can bring about a change in your life. The God of one’s life is within. The enlightened ones have always taught that if you want to love God, then fi rst fi nd out whether you love his children or not? If you cannot love his children, then how can you ever love him?


Someone once said, “Lord! I aspire neither for country nor kingdom, not even fame or worldly respect. All I desire is that even if I go to hell, I may remember your name.” He whose heart is overfl owing with devotion becomes so intense in it that even if someone tells him that he will go to hell, his only response will be, “Let me go to hell a thousand times, but may my love for the Lord never leave my heart. If my heart is alight with the eternal fl ame of God’s love, then even the dungeons of hell will be illumined.”

But Kūṇika’s devotion was not a true one. It was born out of the need to revive his image and to fi nd a place in heaven. Can heaven be attained thus?

What this means is that the desire for possessions results in the downfall of man. Wherever man is overcome by possessiveness, his life is fi lled with darkness. He may think that he is bringing wealth under his control. But actually, he is falling prey to his desire. He neither belongs to himself nor to his family nor to anyone else. Neither can he redeem himself nor another. Defeated from all spheres, he loves no one and is loved by none. He becomes the object of universal hatred.

Thus we see that trapped in the web of possessiveness, a person loses his sanity. Like a plague, it ravages him. Like a drug, it enslaves him. He is obsessed with his bank balances and account books. His desires keep on multiplying. Neither his family gets anything from him nor the community or nation. He is unable to attend to the needs and problems of those around him. His sole aim is to fi ll his coffers. The scriptures call such a person a dummy. The farmer places a scarecrow in the centre of the fi eld to scare away birds and animals. After all, it just has the face of a man, it is not human. As the proverb goes:

The scarecrow of the fi eld neither feeds others nor himself.

Similarly, what kind of a person is he who neither enjoys his own wealth, nor lets others benefi t from it? He has the face of man, but not the heart of man. Humane qualities have deserted him, he is inert.

When the empathy towards one’s fellow beings awakens, then inertia will disappear. As long as there is greed and loot in the world, the soul of humanity becomes dulled and sullied. The tendency of possessiveness ruins lives. Hence, do not ruin your lives by chasing possessions, do not confuse your desires for needs. He who adopts the Jaina ideal of icchā parimāṇa or parigraha parimāṇa fi nds the pathway to infi nite joy.