Obsessed with pleasures

The Lord took many avataras to reform us and to educate us

about the dangers of worldly pleasures, so that we may turn
our thoughts towards Him and attain moksha. But people did not recognise Him, even when He was in their midst. We are obsessed with worldly pleasures, and even when these
pleasures bring us sorrow, we do not recognise the role they
play in our misery. An analogy of a dog that chewed a bone is appropriate here, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse.

A dog began to chew a bone, which had little flesh on it. The hard bone hurt the dog’s gums, and its gums began to bleed. The foolish dog did not realise that it was its own blood on the bone. It thought it was actually chewing a juicy bone, and it bit harder.

The more it bit, the more its gums bled, and yet it

continued to chew upon the bone. Thus it is with us too. Even when we are experiencing trouble, we don’t see it as trouble. That being the case, how will we recognise the cause of the trouble, when we do not even recognise that we are suffering?

Another analogy is given of a tortoise that was caught by a

man, who put a pot of water on a fire, and put the tortoise in the pot. Initially the tortoise swam around happily, because of the warmth of the water, but soon the water started getting too hot, and the creature knew it could not escape. At least the tortoise knew it couldn’t escape, but we are not even as smart as that tortoise.

We don’t realise that once we are caught in samsara, there

is no escape for us, unless we seek Him. It is to lead us on the right path that great men make their appearance on this earth now and then.