Paramahamsa Prajnanananda
Paramahamsa Prajnanananda Quotes about People
Suppose a soccer match is played between Germany and the Netherlands. During a soccer match, you can see the excitement from people in both countries. Although it is the karma of twenty-two players, eleven from each team, it affects the lives ofs. One year I happened to be in the Netherlands when a soccer tournament was in progress. I was at the airport wearing my orange monk’s attire. Suddenly two men who worked in the airport restaurant looked at me and shouted, “Holland! Holland!” (Orange is the color of the national soccer team of the Netherlands). I smiled and said, “India…I’m from India.” They both laughed and said, “India has a great orange color.” The karma of a few people can affect many.
We are busy playing with the toys of ego. No doubt, this is the life of most people in the world.
We live in a body that is like a house we can live in during one life. Some love the body and become attached to it. Some consider the body everything, and some even think “I am the body.” Some people may not like or love their body. Undoubtedly, we may wonder why so many people dislike their bodies since they chose them. Their suffering is the result of their own ignorance. Indeed, all suffering is due to ignorance. “I do not like this body; I want to change it. I do not look nice; I am ugly.”
We are decorated with the ornaments of endless desires. They are around our necks — my neck, everyone’s neck. However, these ornaments are not visible to ordinary people, only to the wise. We have decorated ourselves with a garland of endless desires mistakenly thinking that we would be happy if we had a nice house, a nice job, and nice clothes.