OUR HAPPINESS: HEALTHY SOUL IN A HEALTHY BODY!

We start our discussion by quoting the great Ancient Philosopher PLATO- “If the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul.” On the other hand, Lord Mahaveera stressed the same by saying - “The body is the boat and the soul is the sailor and the worldly existence is the Ocean.”

We as ordinary human beings care for the health of our bodies alone. But as a man, we are not bodies alone. We have embodied souls. This stresses that the health of the soul is no less important than that of the body. From one another angle - we see that on a man’s death the embodied soul leaves the body and the body is disposed of or consigned to fire or to earth as per the practice of that community.

The general belief is that the soul travels to another body giving birth to someone. This soul goes with good & bad deeds as the case may be. The Jain philosophy believes that the soul passes into another body as per its noble or wrong deeds called Pap and Punya.

Here we may stress upon the health of the Soul which is eternal by nature and never dies be more important than that of the health of the body which is ultimately perishable after death. Present days medical science prescribes a number of directions for the health and betterment of our body and is more or less silent regarding the health of the soul. The rational and philosophical views of religions prescribe certain directions for keeping the soul fit and healthy. That is why there is a popular saying “A sound mind in a sound body”. This denotes that a wise man always cares for the body as well as the soul to keep them happy and healthy. The standard directions in both cases are not contradictory but complementary to each other.

HOW TO MAINTAIN THE HEALTH OF THE SOUL?
There are a number of philosophies given by different religions. The popular Indian view is - the Almighty God is omnipresent and omnipotent and is constantly and regularly watching our dayto-day activities to decide reward and/or punishment for us as per our good/bad doings.

The Jain philosophy is different. It is based on the theory of “Karma”. It states - our own Karma is the only basis of rewards & punishments. If we carefully and sincerely perform our duties in life - no power on earth can harm us & vice-versa no power can save us from logical punishment. Jains don’t believe in the existence of God or the Almighty. The basic thought is that our soul, by good deeds, can become super-soul. Therefore for keeping our souls happy and healthy we must always do good deeds and must remain totally away from bad doings.

LORD MAHAVEERA’S ECONOMICS OF LIFE:
In the modern world ‘Artha’ is the central factor around which the whole economy revolves as the earth moves around the sun. In modern economics ‘Artha’ has become a symbol of a good, happy and prosperous life. This has developed two distinct sections in our society -(i) of Haves & (il) of Have - nots. This imbalance has resulted in negatively affecting mental peace, mutual cooperation, oneness and social equality etc.

This sort of ill consequence is being called ‘Capitalism’ which is the main cause of disturbed happiness of our soul, mind & body. Lord Mahaveera provides us with a clear guideline for the economics of life. This is in brief: Desires of man are constantly growing and can never be fully satisfied. Therefore, most of man’s mental and physical tantrums are the result of this dissatisfaction. The ultimate remedy lies in exercising due control over these desires by salvation and control over one’s mind. Most of the social problems like looting, murder, rape, terror etc. are the results of this inner frustration.

Again Lord Mahaveera propounded -”Live and Let Live.” Every human being should learn to live in peace and must not disturb the peace of others by his own direct or indirect behaviour. Lord Mahaveera was in favour of an equitable social order free from exploitation. Exploitation is no less than violence. We the so-called learned people must learn to be the master of our life events and not their slaves. Here are the following lines of renowned Hindi poet Jaishankar Prasad from his famous book Kamavani be our guide -Lord Mahaveera’s belowmentioned sermons are of utmost importance:-

The noble and enlightened soul feels no terror even at the time of death.
Truth is the only eternal reality; it is as high as Everest & as deep as the ocean.
Be always friendly & helpful to all living beings.
One who succeeds in conquering his soul conquers all.

A pious soul always experiences pleasure in forgetting or forgiving.
No question of perfect salvation till you don’t suffer fully for your previous “Karmas”. True religion resides in a holy soul.
The sinner goes to hell beyond doubt.
Move yourself out from mental slavery to keep your soul happy and healthy.
Ahimsa, Anekant and Aparigraha are the basics for our behaviour.

A resident of Beawar the author after retiring (A from the education department of Rajasthan has been engaged in spreading positivity in society through his writings.