Aptavani-2
143
(a man of highest quality). All day long he obliges others from
the moment he wakes up. He has an obliging nature; he makes
others happy even when he is suffering himself. He suffers pain
without any artadhyan or raudradhyan. You will never see a
frown on his face; on the contrary his face will always be
glowing. He will help solve everyone’s problems. He is never
biased towards anyone. What are the qualities of a true Jain? A
true Jain is considered to be one with the highest human
qualities. His aura radiates for fifty miles around him!
Today, these men have become sheth - masters and
bosses (the noun has changed from shresthi to sheth). If you ask
their drivers and their workers what they think about their boss,
they will say, “Don’t even talk about him!”
Today these shresthis have turned into competitive players
in the worldly life. If their neighbor buys a new couch, they too
will go out and buy one even if their couch is only two years old.
They are stuck in competing with people. One can make do
with a cushion to sit upon and pillows but instead they compete
with their neighbors. How can these people be worthy of the
title of sheth? The Indian concept of cushions and pillows on the
floor is a great concept but people do not realize this and instead
run after couches and sofas. When they see other people’s
couches they feel they too should have one, and then the
squabbling starts in their home. The chauffer has a sofa in his
home and so does the sheth. All this is very unnatural.
People even imitate clothes. If they see someone making
rotli (Indian flat bread, chapatti) on a gas stove, they too will run
out and buy a gas stove. Do they not realize the difference in the
taste between rotli cooked on charcoal and rotli cooked on the
gas? There is no problem in buying things but why do it out of
competition? People have lost their humanity with such
competitiveness. People are regressing. Animal-like behavior
will merit a birth in the animal kingdom. Otherwise a shresthi is