Urja and Vidyamaan were brimming with excitement. Theywere going to stay with their grandparents for four days.Another five minutes and they would be there. Theycouldn’t contain their anticipation and were waitingimpatiently at the door of their train as it reached the end ofits journey. Soon enough, they heard the toot toot of theirtrain as it lumbered to a stop on the platform. Heeding thewarnings of their father’s peon who was accompanyingthem, they didn’t immediately rush out even though eachwanted to be the first to greet their grandparents.

Finally, they got down on the platform and were greeted bytheir grandmother’s beaming face. They launched themselvesat her. She gathered them in her arms and gave both ofthem a tight hug. The peon who was bringing their luggagealso bowed and touched grandmother’s feet.

“Where’s Nanaji?” they asked.

“He had an important meeting he couldn’t miss. He’ll behome directly.” Their grandmother replied.

“Maa, I missed you so much!” Urja said.

“No, Maa I missed you so … much” Vidyaman saidplaintively.

“Children, don’t start fighting now. First let us go home atleast.” Their grandmother said smilingly.

They both held their grandmother’s hand on each side andfollowed her outside.

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The entire day was spent exploring their grandparents’house and catching up with the changes that had happenedin the house since their last visit. Their grandfather was soonhome too and they enjoyed telling him about all thehappenings in their school.

At night they both fought over who was going to sleep withgrandmother and finally as always they both laid down oneach side of their grandmother and begged her to tell thema story.

“Alright, alright I’ll tell you a story.” Maa agreed laughingly.

She began, “Today, I’ll tell you a story about thecompassionate elephant.”

“The compassionate elephant? But Maa, how can anelephant be compassionate? He is an animal, not a humanbeing, so how can he be compassionate?” Urja asked insurprise.

“That is where you are mistaken, my child. Living things orwhat we call ‘Jeev’ has a body and a soul. The body of aJeev can change into an animal, a human being or a plantbut the soul or the Atma remains the same. And the soul orthe Atma has the capacity to feel and know.”

“Do I also have an Atma?” Vidyamaan asked with wideeyes.

“Yes, beta, everyone of us has an atma. And now listen tothis story.” Maa said.

“Once upon a time, there was a forest in which manyanimals lived happily. There also lived an elephant whichwas very gentle and kind. One day a huge fire broke out inthe forest. As the fire raged wildly all the animals including

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the elephant, ran to a safe area which was on top of a hill, inorder to save themselves. Soon, the area became verycrowded with the animals. The elephant reached the hilland with great difficulty managed to squeeze in.

Suddenly, the elephant felt an itching sensation in the soleof his foot. He raised his leg to scratch his foot with histrunk. Unseen by him a rabbit jumped into this space. Justas the elephant was about to put his foot down, he feltsomething. He looked down and saw the rabbit sittingthere. He knew that if he put his foot down the rabbit wouldbe crushed because there was no other space where therabbit could stand. To avoid hurting or crushing the rabbit,he kept his leg up. The fire lasted for three days. Throughoutthe three days the elephant exerted tremendous willpowerand kept holding his leg up. Soon the fire stopped and all

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the animals left. As the rabbit left the elephant felt contentthat he had saved the rabbit’s life.

Once the rabbit left, the elephant tried to put down his foot,but because he had been standing in one posture for solong, his body had suddenly become stiff and he haddifficulty in putting down his leg. He lowered his leg slowlybut he suddenly lost his balance and fell down. Since he wasstanding at the edge of the hill, he fell and rolled down theslope and died.

But because of the compassion and kindness that theelephant showed to the rabbit he earned punya and hisgood karmas made him transcend his animal gati for ahuman gati and he was reborn as Prince Meghkumar in hisnext life.

So, you see that an elephant because of the bhav ofcompassion towards another living being was able to leavethe animal yoni and enter the human yoni.

Therefore, children, the moral of the story is, “Becompassionate and kind to all living beings, whether theyare big or small.”

“Maa, so does that mean that my atma was also an animalonce?” Urja asked.

“Even now you are an animal. You are a scaredy-cat. Youare a darpok, darpok darpok” Vidyaman chanted with glee.

Urja sat up and raised her hand to hit him.

“Hush, my dear!” Maa stopped her and enfolded her in herembrace. “Now don’t fight. Don’t you want to listen further?Urja is right. All of us were animals at some time or theother. And you know we can again become an animal if we

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behave badly or hurt anyone. Tomorrow I will tell you thestory of two brothers Surasen and Mahasen and then youwill see what can happen if we even think of hurting ananimal.”

“Maa, please, please tell us right now. Please, I am notsleepy at all.” Urja pleaded.

Vidyamaan seconded her, “Yes, Maa please even I am notsleepy. Please tell us just one more story.”

“Alright I will tell you just one more story but then promiseme that you will sleep after this.” said smilingly.

“Promise” they screamed in unison.

Maa began “Once upon a time in the city of Ksitipratisthita,there lived a king and queen named Virasen andVasundhara. They had two sons, Mahasen and Surasen.Both the brothers loved each other and grew up togetherhappily.

When he was around sixteen years old, Mahasen developeda boil on his tongue. In the beginning it was a tiny dot butgradually it increased in size and became very painful.Mahasen couldn’t eat or drink anything because it wouldhurt his tongue. The king called many vaids and doctorswho tried various medicines and herbs to cure him butnothing worked. His boil couldn’t be cured.

Mahasen’s affliction increased and he became pale andweak because he was unable to eat or drink anything andwas in continuous pain. It was difficult to see him bear somuch pain and suffering but all attempts to cure him failedand despite the king’s efforts all the vaids shook their headsin despair and gave up hope. Soon, the disease was muchadvanced and Mahasen became so weak that he was unable

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to get up. He spent the entire time lying on the bed. Hedeveloped a terrible bad breath and emitted a bad stenchfrom his mouth. The odour was so unbearable that peoplehesitated in coming close to him.

However, his younger brother, Surasen did not leave himalone. He always sat by his bed, talking to him and takingcare of him.

Surasen hated to see his elder brother in such pain but didn’tknow what to do. One day, deeply upset by Mahasen’ssuffering, he resolved that he wouldn’t eat any food until hisbrother became well. He sat by his side holding his brother’shand and calming him. Suddenly, a thought came in hismind and he decided to recite the holy Namokar Mantra.

Surasen brought a bowl containing water and chanted theholy mantra nine times. He then asked Mahasen to open hismouth and sprinkled the water on his brother’s tongue.

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To his great surprise Mahasen felt an immediate relief.Surasen continued to do this for several days and hisbrother’s tongue got better. Gradually the odour and the boildisappeared.

The king was very happy and began to revere the NamokarMantra. All the people who saw this miracle developed faithin the Namokar Mantra and began to chant it regularly.

Some months later, Acharya Bhadrabahu came with hisentourage to the city. Acharya Bhadrabahu was not onlyvery learned but he also possessed Avadhi Gyan whichenabled him to know about the past lives of people. The twobrothers went to listen to Acharya’s discourse. AcharyaBhadrabahu spoke about the power of karmas. He said thatone’s karmas affect not only one’s present life but one’sfuture life as well.

After his sermon was over, Surasen approached him andtold him about Mahasen’s illness and asked him if he couldtell them why his brother had to suffer.

The Acharya told them that Mahasen’s suffering in hispresent life had been caused by his past life karmas. He toldthem why this happened. He said, “In Bharatshetra, therewas a city, Manipur. A merchant named Yogesh lived there.He was a devout Jain and a strong believer of the Jina path.Yogesh had two sons, named Bhir and Vir.

One day while going to a park, the two boys saw a Jainmonk lying dead on the street. There were many peoplestanding around him but no one seemed to be doinganything. They came to know that the monk had beenmeditating when he was bitten by a poisonous snake. Themonk had immediately fallen dead. The snake had however,escaped into his hole.

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On hearing this Vir was filled with rage and said, “Whydidn’t anybody kill the snake? There are so many peoplehere. How could you keep standing and let the snakeescape? You should have chopped him to pieces.”

Bhir tried to calm him down and said, “Bhai, the snakeescaped because of his good karmas. But why are yougetting so angry and thinking such murderous thoughts?This is also a sinful act.”

Vir said, “Bhir, can’t you understand that the snake hascommitted a grave sin by biting a holy righteous monk?Therefore, killing the snake would be a justified act and nota sinful act.”

Bhir replied, “No, two wrongs do not make one right. Whatis wrong is wrong. You are letting your emotions sway you.Your feeling for the Muni is making you think such violentthoughts. This is wrong. You should repent for what youhave wished and said for the snake.”

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Vir remained upset and unconvinced and refused to do so.He continued to think ill of the snake.

The monk continued to tell Surasen, “Bhir has been rebornas you and Vir as your brother. Since in his past life,Mahasen wished to hurt the snake and did not repent hehad to suffer by having a boil on his tongue. But by the timeyou started reciting the holy Namokar Mantra his badkarmas got over and his illness was cured.”

Mahasen and Surasen were enlightened when they learnt oftheir previous lives. They turned more spiritual and devoutand decided to lead their lives by inculcating Jain teachingsin all spheres of their lives.

So, you see children, we should always practice Ahimsa inactions as well as thoughts. Even the mere thought ofviolence can make you accumulate bad karma and you willhave to carry these bad karmas like a sack on your back.”Maa said.

“Oh, so that means Vidyamaan will become an animal Maa,because he always fights with me and hurts me.” It wasUrja’s turn to say gleefully now.

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Vidyamaan was ready to burst into tears at the thought ofbecoming an animal and said, “I don’t want to carry thesack… sack of …”

Maa hugged him and said “Then don’t fight and hurt eachother. Always practice ahimsa. Remember if you hurt othersyou hurt yourself in the long run. Alright now, it’s time tosleep. We have to get up early tomorrow to go to thetemple.” Saying this she tucked them in soundly.

Word Meaning

Word MeaningAnticipation – expectationAdmonished – to reprove or scold gentlyAffliction – suffering, problemAhimsa – non-violenceAtma – soulAvadhi Gyan – power of knowing about previous birthsAccumulate – to gatherBeaming – smiling expansivelyBhav – feelings, emotionsCompassionate – caring, kind, mercifulDarpok – cowardDiscourse – discussion, sermonDevout – pious, religiousEmitted – gave outExcitement – feeling joyful and livelyEnlightened – gain knowledgeExerted – made an effortEntourage – followers, associatesInculcating – fix in mindGathered – pick and enfold

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Gleefully – joyfully, merrilyGrave – serious, importantGati – stateJeev – living beingJustified – proved to be rightKarmas – deeds or actionsLumbered – move heavily with noiseLaunched – to throw or propelPlaintively – say mournfully, sadlyPosture – manner of standingPunya – good, noblePossessed – in possessionResolved – determined, decidedRevere – respectedRepent – to be sorry for what one has doneRighteous – just and correctStench, Odour – disgusting smellSpiritual – having to do with the soulTremendous – very great or strongTranscend – to rise aboveUnison – agreementVaid – doctor who follows traditional Indian

methods of healing

Yoni – category

❑❑❑

Despite having been dead tired the kids got up early the nextmorning. They quickly bathed and without any prompting,got ready. Their grandparents were also ready and waitingfor them. Urja and Vidyamaan chorused a greeting “GoodMorning Maa, Good morning Nanaji!”

“Jai Jinendra, bachho” their grandparents greeted them inreturn.

“Jai Jinendra? What does this mean, Maa?” Urja askedcuriously.

“When Jains greet someone they say “Jai Jinendra”. Itmeans saluting “Jin” or one who has gained victory over his“Indris or senses.”

“Who is a ‘Jin’?” Vidyamaan asked with an air ofincomprehension.

“Jins” are our Tirthankars or Gods who have attainedmoksh and left this world forever. They have taught us howto lead a worthy life.” Maa explained.

“But…” Vidyamaan wanted to know more.

Urja cut him off, “So many questions! We should put aquestion mark on his forehead. He is always askingquestions.”

With another fight seeming imminent, Nanaji interrupted“No, my child, it is a good habit to ask questions. One gainsknowledge and wisdom. Vidyamaan, Maa will explain moreabout our Tirthankars later. Now we should go or we will belate for the mandir. ”

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They set out for the temple, both of them holding on to theirgrandparents hand each. The temple was situated near theirhouse and they soon reached the temple. They took off theirslippers outside and washed their feet and hands with waterthat had been kept on one side.

Suddenly Nanaji noticed that Vidyamaan was wearing a belt.He asked him to take it off. Mystified, he asked, “Why?”

Nanaji said, “Beta, when we go to temple, we wear cleanand simple clothes and we do not wear silk or leatherarticles because silk is made by killing silkworms and leatheris made from the skin of the cow and as Jains it is our dutyto shun violence in any form.”

“Then we should not buy these items because that meanswe are encouraging violence.” Urja said in an impassionatetone.

“That is true, my dear. Most Jains have taken the oath ofnever buying items made of silk and leather.”

“Then even I take the vow that I will never buy these twothings.” Urja said.

Not to be outdone, Vidyamaan too chimed in, “Me too.”

“Very good my dears, I’m proud of you.” Maa beamed withdelight.

Just before entering the temple, Urja heard Maa say softly,“Nissihi, Nissihi, Nissihi.” She looked at her questioninglyand asked, “Why do you say this and what does this mean?”

Maa replied, “Nissihi means renunciation or to give up. Wesay this three times while entering the temple to discard allour worries and anxieties and all our thoughts relating to

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worldly affairs and to worship God with a clear mind.” Urjatoo said softly, “Nissihi, Nissihi, Nissihi.”

Maa then entered the temple and raised her hand to ring theiron bell which hung from the ceiling. Urja too followed herand standing on her toes, rung the bell but Vidyaman wasunable to reach the bell.

“I also want to ring the bell” he cried.

“Haan haan, just wait I will pick you.” Nanaji lifted him upa bit and he rang the bell loudly.

“Maa, why do we ring the bell while entering the mandir?”Urja asked thoughtfully.

“Beta, there are many reasons for doing so. We believe thatbesides human beings many devs also visit the temples.Devs are invisible and cannot be seen by us so the bell isrung to announce our arrival so that they can move away.Also the sound of the bell produces the sound ‘Om’ which issacred and gives positive energy”.

Like all Jain children Urja and Vidyaman too had been goingto the temple but going with their grandmother made themunderstand the logic behind the rituals they had beenperforming in the mandir.

Standing before the idol of God they recited the NamokarMantra with folded hands and intense concentration. Theyrecited,

“Om Jaya Jaya Jaya,

Namostu Namostu Namostu

Namo Arihantanam

Namo Siddhanam

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Namo Ayariyanam

Namo Uvajjhayanam

Namo Loe Savvasahunam”

Maa opened the little box she was carrying and they bothtook some samagri. They waited for Maa to recite the shlokabefore offering the samagri.

“Udak chandan tandul pushp kai,charu sudip sudhup phalargha kai;

Dhaval mangal gaan ravakulai jin grahe,jin naam maham yaje.

Om hrim shrim bhagvat jin sahastra namebhyo,argham nirvpamati swaha!”

When Maa said, “swaha” the children too said, “swaha” andplaced the samagri with their right hands on the table.

Then they went around the idol three times. Finally, theybowed before the idol and then stood up. They dipped theirfingers in the gandhodak which is the water used to bathethe idol and which is collected and kept in a bowl. Maalooked at them amused as with great diligence they touchedtheir foreheads, their eyes and their throat with the sacredwater.

“Do you know why we apply this water on our body?” sheasked Urja and Vidyaman gently.

“Yes, Maa this is sacred water which is used to bathe theidols and is then collected in a bowl.” Urja replied.

“Very good but why do we apply it on our forehead andeyes and throat?” Maa asked.

“We don’t know Maa” they said in unison.

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“We apply it on our forehead so that we may always keep inmind the achievements of our tirthankars and then on oureyes so that we may always visualize their deeds and lastlyon our throat so that we may always sing their praise. Andwhile dipping our fingers we should recite this shloka,

“Nirmalam Nirmali Karnam, Pavitram Paap VinashanamJin Charnodakam Vandein Ashta Karam Vinashakam”

“What does it mean Maa?” Urja asked.

“This means that this water is pure and clean and it calms usand cleanses us and destroys all our sins. And singing thepraise of Jin Bhagwan’s feet destroys our eight Karmas.Now we should go. By speaking we are disturbing theothers.” They bowed before the idols and left.

Urja and Vidyamaan couldn’t wait for the afternoon to comeand hurriedly finished their lunch and entreated theirgrandmother to tell them a story. Their grandmotherlaughed at their eagerness and agreed.

“Today I will tell you the story of Chandkaushik, adangerous cobra.”

“Oh, wow a cobra! Maa, I love snakes. I will keep one as apet when I grow up.” Vidyamaan said excitedly.

“Snakes are dangerous. He will eat you alive, then you willknow!” Urja said discouragingly.

“He will not eat me. I will be his master. And I will train himto eat you.” Vidyamaan answered back.

“Hush !, now don’t start fighting. This story is about LordMahavir when he was a Muni. Lord Mahavir used to fast andmeditate. He used to travel from place to place, one villageto another preaching to the people.

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One day, Lord Mahavir decided to go to the village ofVachala. But to reach that village he would have to cross aforest. And in that forest lived a deadly snake calledChandkaushik.”

“Maa, how big was he? Was he thousand, lakh feet long?”Vidyamaan asked excitedly.

“Please Vidyamaan, keep quiet!” Urja said exasperatedly.

Maa patted Urja gently, “Let him ask.” She continued, “Yes,he was certainly very ferocious and poisonous. Whoeverentered the forest didn’t come out alive and he had killedmany cows, buffaloes and human beings. Because ofChandkaushik not a single animal lived in the forest. All thepeople of the nearby villages were absolutely terrified ofChandkaushik. There were rumours that Chandkaushik haddivine powers and that he could kill just by casting his evilglance upon a person”.

When the villagers learnt about Lord Mahavir’s intentions topass through the forest, they tearfully requested him to gothrough another route.

But Lord Mahavir remained unperturbed by all the direwarnings of the villagers. He had no fear and practicedsupreme non-violence. He had no hatred towards anyoneand considered fear and hatred as violence of the self. Hewas at peace with himself and all other living beings. Therewas a glow of serenity and compassion on the Lord’s face.With a calm smile on his face, he set out for the forest.

He entered the forest and soon the beautiful greenery of theforest began to fade and give way to dried shrubs and dyingtrees. The forest wore a deserted and uninhabited look.Lord Mahavir kept on walking undeterred and reached an

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area which seemed totally barren and arid. Trees and plantslooked burnt out and the air seemed poisonous. This wasthe area where Chandkaushik lived.

Lord Mahavir sat down to meditate. As he sat there in deepconcentration, feelings of peace, tranquility, and compassionfor every living being flowed from Lord Mahavir’s heart.

Meanwhile, Chandkaushik sensed that someone hadentered his territory and he came out of his hole. To hissurprise he saw a man sitting quietly on the ground. Hebecame furious and began hissing and slithered towardsLord Mahavir, but the Lord continued to sit there intranquility. Chandkaushik became angrier and came closerto the Lord and swayed his head, dangerously, ready tostrike. But the Lord showed no sign of being disturbed.

Chandkaushik then blew poisonous venom towards LordMahavir three times. But the venom didn’t have any effecton Lord Mahavir and he continued to sit in meditation.

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Chandkaushik was frustrated at seeing this andconcentrating with all his power he bit the Lord’s toe. But tohis shock nothing happened to the Lord and instead pure,white milk flowed out of his toe.

Then Lord Mahavir opened his eyes. He was calm and therewas no fear or anger on his face. There was love andaffection in his eyes. He looked deep into Chandkaushik’seyes and said to him:

“Understand, understand, Chandkaushik and realize whereyou are going!

Awake! Chandkaushik, be enlightened!”

Chandkaushik became calm and felt a sense of recognitionas if he had seen such a person earlier. As he gazed at LordMahavir, he experienced an awakening and achieved specialknowledge i.e. Jatismarangyan which enabled him to recallhis previous births.

Chandkaushik remembered that he too had once been aMuni and had committed the sin of crushing a frog to death,but had refused to confess to his guru and had hidden hiscrime. He had dismissed his junior monk’s repeatedpleading of confessing and absolving himself of his deed.Instead of being penitent he had been filled with murderousrage at his young companion and had tried to attack him inthe dark . But he had dashed his own head against a pillarand had died.

His anger and violent nature had continued to increase ineach of his rebirths until finally he had been born as thepoisonous snake, Chandkaushik.

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The compassion of Lord Mahavir awakens him and herealizes what anger, violence and his ego have done to him.His anger vanishes and he finds himself freed of the poisonof anger.

He bent his head down peacefully on the ground toacknowledge that Lord Mahavir has liberated him.

Lord Mahavir left with a smile. Chandkaushik peacefullyretreated to his hole with his head inside, while most of hisbody remained outside.

The news that Chandkaushik had not harmed Lord Mahavirspread like wildfire. Curious and disbelieving, people from

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the neighbouring villages began coming to seeChandkaushik. They saw Chandkaushik lying quietly withhis head inside the hole. Some started worshipping it,pouring milk on it and offering food. But some others whowere angry with Chandkaushik for having killed their lovedones, threw stones at it and hit it with wooden sticks.Chandkaushik was wounded and began bleeding but hedidn’t retaliate.

He continued to lie there with his head inside the hole andthe mixture of blood, milk and food attracted thousands ofants and they surrounded him and began eating his body.Even then Chandkaushik remained calm and peaceful anddidn’t let anger touch him. His self restraint and controldestroyed his bad karmas and he died and went to heaven.

“But why did he die? He had become so good now?” Urjaasked.

“He died because his time had come. And compassionateLord Mahavir helped him so that he was liberated from theendless circle of rebirth.”

“Maa, I’m feeling very bad for Chandkaushik. He suffered somuch pain.” Vidyamaan cried out.

“Beta, this pain that he suffered was because of his angerand ego but because he repented sincerely he was able todestroy all his bad karmas and achieve salvation.”

“I didn’t know that our anger can harm us so much!” Urjasaid.

“Next time before you both let anger overwhelm you, pausefor a moment and remember Chandkaushik and your angerwill vanish.” Maa said with a smile.

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“Now children, we will have our afternoon nap.” But thechildren protested and pleaded for another story. Maarelented after they promised they would sleep after anotherstory.

“Alright I’ll tell you another story about showing love andcompassion to all living beings, big or small. Once upon atime there was a king called Meghrath who was a brave andjust king and who ruled his country well. He was known forhis truthfulness and steadfastness and there was completejustice in his kingdom. The people in his kingdom livedhappily and peacefully.

Meghrath was very religious and carried out all the duties ofa shravak.”

“Maa. Who is a shravak?” Urja asked.

“Beta, a shravak is a person who lives the life of ahouseholder but follows certain rules in his day to day life.”Maa explained:

“One day when he was sitting in the royal court a pigeoncame flying from outside and almost fell down on the king’slap. Its heart was beating violently and it was trembling withfear. Meghrath gently patted the pigeon wondering fromwhere it had appeared”.

The pigeon suddenly spoke, “Maharaj, please save me!”

Meghraj was startled on hearing a pigeon speak but replied,“Have no fear! I will protect you! Whom are you scared of?”

Just as the pigeon was about to answer a fierce hawk cameflying and perched upon a pillar. The pigeon cowered in theking’s lap.

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“The pigeon is mine, Maharaj! Please give him to me.” thehawk said.

“The pigeon has sought my shelter and I have granted himmy protection. I cannot hand him over to you.”

“But I am hungry and he is my prey. If I don’t eat him I willdie!” the hawk replied.

“I will call my cook who will provide you with whatever foodyou desire. But you should desist from killing any livingbeing for your hunger.” Meghrath counseled the hawk.

“Maharaj, I am a non-vegetarian and only eat meat. If youdon’t hand over the pigeon, I will die of hunger. And you willbe responsible for my death.”

King Meghraj was in a dilemma. He could not hand over thepigeon to the hawk nor could he offer meat to the hawk. Hisreligion forbade such a deed. He thought for a moment andthen pronounced, “I cannot break the promise of protection

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that I have given to the pigeon, nor can I offer you any meat.However, since I cannot have your death at my door, I offeryou meat equivalent to the weight of the pigeon from mybody!”

Everyone was stunned at the king’s announcement. Hiscourtiers pleaded with him but to no avail. The king stoodfirm on his decision.

The hawk agreed to the offer.

The king called for a weighing scale. He put the pigeon inone plate of the scale and in the other he put a piece of fleshcut from his body. To his amazement, the pigeon’s side washeavier. So, the king cut some more flesh from his body tocounterbalance its weight. But the pigeon’s end stillremained heavy. Despite cutting and putting more fleshfrom his body the pigeon’s side remained heavier. Finally,the king sat down on his end of the scales. Now, the scalesbecame evenly balanced.

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The courtiers were aghast. They protested that they wouldnot allow their benevolent and noble king to sacrifice hislife.”

Vidyamaan was listening with his mouth wide open.“Meghrath was ready to sacrifice his life for that of a pigeon!But he was a king!”

“Yes, but he was a just king and he believed that all livingbeings had an equal right to live.” Maa said.

“Meghrath didn’t listen to his courtiers and said, “I havegiven my word. And the life of each being, whether it is apigeon or a king, is equally precious!”

Suddenly, the hawk and the pigeon disappeared and a Devstood there.

“You are truly great, Meghrath! I had heard you beingpraised for being just and noble and I decided to test you. Ihad sent the pigeon and the hawk for this purpose. I amhappy that you have proved to be true to your reputation. Ifelicitate you!” The Dev joined his hands and bowed. Theking stood up completely healed” Maa ended.

“Oh good, I am so glad that compassionate Meghrath didnot die!” Vidyamaan said happily.

“So, what have you learnt from this story?” Maa asked them.

“I have learnt that we should be brave and protect those whoare weaker than us.” Vidyamaan said with a pumped up fist.

Urja immediately responded, “You only think of fighting andbattles. Maa, in all the stories that you have told us,compassion is the main thing. We should be kind andcompassionate to everyone, big or small.”

Maa hugged them happily and said, “You both are right, mydears. Lord Mahavir, Meghrath, the elephant and the two

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brothers, Surasen and Mahasen all show us the power ofkindness and compassion.”

“What happened to Meghrath afterwards?” Vidyamaanasked.

“Meghrath had a long and happy reign. When the timecame, he renounced his worldly life and became a Muni. Hisbrother Dridhrath and many others also renounced withhim. He led a simple and austere life as a muni. When hisend was near, he kept fast until death and went to heaven.He was reborn as the prince of Hastinapur and became oursixteenth Tirthankar, Lord Shantinath.

Now children, go to sleep. We will attend dharma classes inthe evening.”

Word MeaningWord MeaningAbsolving – free from guilt or sinAcknowledge – recognizeAghast – horrifiedArid – very dryAttained – reached, gainedAustere – severe, strictAvail – gain, benefitBarren – bleak and lifelessBenevolent – kind and caringChorused – sing or say togetherCounseled – advisedCowered – shrink, cringedCuriously – anxiety to learn, inquisitivelyDangerous – likely to cause harm

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Desist – cease, discontinueDevs – celestial beingsDharma classes – classes which teach religious doctrines.Dilemma – quandary, predicamentDiligence – carefulnessDire – serious or urgentDiscard – to throw awayDivine – having to do with GodEagerness – keennessEncouraging – inspiringEnlightened – achieve knowledge and understandingEntreated – ask earnestlyFelicitate – congratulateFerocious – fierce and cruelFrustrated – feel dissatisfiedImminent – impendingImpassionate – full of emotion and strong feelingsIncomprehension – not understand somethingIntense – earnest, seriousLiberated – freedMeditate – focus one’s mind for spiritual purposeMoksh – Nirvana, salvationMurderous – capable of extreme violenceMystified – sensing a secret or mysteryOath – vowPenitent – feeling sorrow and regret for wrong-doingPleaded – beggedPrecious – valuablePrompting – without delayRelented – gave in, yieldedRenounced – give up

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Renunciation – to give up, to disownRepented – regrettedRetaliate – hit back, get evenRetreated – went backSalvation – deliveranceSamagri – a mixture of rice, coconut and spices which

are offered to idols in Jain templesSelf-restraint – self-controlSerenity – calmnessShloka – prayersShravak – Jain householder who observes certain vows

in daily lifeShun – avoidSin – an act which breaks a moral lawSlithered – move smoothly with a twisting motionStartled – surprisedSteadfastness – resoluteness, loyaltySwayed – moved forward and backwardTerrified – frightenedTranquility – peace, calmUndeterred – persevering despite setbacksUninhabited – where no one livesUnperturbed – having no anxietyVanishes – disappearsVenom – poisonVictory – win, gain successViolence – act of damaging or harming others

Visualize – form an image

❑❑❑

The children slept and awoke refreshed. They went out toplay in the park and then returned home just before sunset.

They saw Maa having her dinner.

“Maa, why do you always eat your dinner before sunset?”Vidyamaan asked.

“Most Jains eat before sunset because we believe that eatingafter sunset leads to hinsa or violence.” Maa answered.

“Hinsa? But we eat vegetarian food. How can we commithinsa?” Urja asked confused.

“Because after sunset countless flies, tiny insects andmosquitoes appear and if we eat at night the possibility oftheir falling in the food increases. So, to avoid this hinsa weeat before sunset. Moreover, it is healthier to eat early so thatthere is a gap between eating and sleeping and the bodygets ample time to digest the food.”

“Yes, you are right Maa, my favourite actress also has herdinner early because it helps her to stay fit.”

“Maa, she is only interested in fashion and movies! Now shewill copy the actress and eat early!” Vidyamaan saidmockingly.

“And what are you interested in? Only cricket! Even yourfavourite cricketer eats early, sleeps early and gets up early.And you also want to become a cricketer, na?” Urja wasquick to point out.

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“Maa even I will eat with you! I have to get up earlytomorrow for cricket.” Vidyamaan said.

Maa and Urja exchanged amused glances as Urja mouthed‘copy cat’

After their dinner both the children washed and changedtheir clothes and went to the temple with their grandmother.After darshan and aarti their grandmother ushered them toa room where the dharma class was being held. There werearound eight to ten other children sitting on the floor in asemi-circle. A young man sat facing them.

“Jai Jinendra!” Urja and Vidyamaan greeted everyone.

Maa addressed the young man, “Amit, these are Urja andVidyamaan. They have come from Delhi for their summervacations. They both are also interested in learning aboutour religion.”

“Welcome Urja and Vidyamaan. It is good to know that youare eager to know about our religion. Come and sit down.”

They both sat down and Maa said “I am going to listen tothe pravachan. When you finish come there.” And she went.

Amit began, “Alright, children now tell me before beginningour class what is the first thing we should do?”

A boy raised his hand. “Yes, Arham?”

Amit Bhaiya, we should recite the Namokar mantra.”

“Very good Arham. So, all of us will now recite theNamokar mantra.”

The children folded their hands and with bowed heads,recited the Namokar Mantra in unison.

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Once they had finished Amit asked, “Now children youknow that Namokar Mantra is a very important prayer forus. How many of you know the meaning of this prayer?

None of the children raised their hands. They looked at eachother.

A hesitant voice said, “Amit bhaiya, I think we pay ourrespects to the Tirthankars. But I am not sure of the exactmeaning.”

“Very good, Aditi you are quite right.” Amit praised her. “Iwill tell you all the exact meaning.

Namo Arihantanam means “I bow and offer my salutationsto all the Arihants who have reached enlightenment andhave shown us the path of salvation”.

Namo Siddhanam means “I bow and offer my salutations toall the Siddhas or the liberated souls who have achievedmoksh”.

Namo Äyariyänam means “I bow and offer my salutations toall Ächäryas, who are the heads of Jain congregations, andwho preach the principles of religion and show the path ofliberation”.

Namo Uvajjhäyänam means “I bow and offer my salutationsto all Upädhyäyas who are the ascetic teachers and whostudy and teach or explain the Jain scriptures”.

Namo Loe Savva Sähunam means “I bow and offer mysalutations to all Sädhus and Sädhvis who follow the fivegreat vows of conduct and inspire us to live a simple life”.

Eso Panch Namukkäro means “I offer my salutations to suchfive souls”.

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Savva Päva Panäsano means “such feelings will help todestroy all my sins”.

Mangalänam cha Savvesim Padhamam Havai Mangalammeans “offering this praise is the foremost amongst all ofthe auspicious benedictions. Whoever recites this will havean auspicious life.

Now remember whenever you recite the Namokar Mantrayou should recite it with feeling and understanding. Alrightnow tell me some of the important principles of ourreligion?”

Several children raised their hands. “Yes, Parul, you tellme.”

“Bhaiya, the main principle is Ahimsa.”

“Very good, Parul. You are absolutely right. It is said,“Ahimsa Parmo Dharam”

Non-violence or ahimsa is our most important duty. OurTirthankars taught us that we should follow ahimsa in deedas well as in thought. We should not harm anyone eitherphysically or mentally. We acquire paap if we commit hinsaor violence” Amit explained.

“Jiji, remember when you hit me next time you will acquirepaap” Vidyamaan said gleefully.

“That goes for you too, Vidyamaan. You also fight with meand hit me” Urja retorted.

“Children, it is not a good thing to fight. Do you know youcan acquire paap just by having violent thoughts andthinking badly of others.

For example, Vidyamaan supposing you are angry with Urja

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about something. Now you don’t hit her but you think ‘Iwish I could hit her or I hope she hurts herself.’ Just thismere thought is enough for you to acquire paap. So, you seeyou should follow non-violence in actions as well asthoughts. Have you heard the story about Kulaputra whosincerely followed the doctrine of Ahimsa? No? I’ll tell you.

Long ago in the city of Rajpur, lived a man namedKulaputra. He had a close friend, Jaindas who followed Jainreligion. One day Jaindas was going to listen to the sermonof his spiritual teacher, a Jain monk. Kulaputra decided toaccompany Jaindas. The monk spoke about Ahimsa. Hesaid that all living beings are equal and one should love allliving things whether it is a huge elephant or a tiny bug.Every living being has the right to live and we should respecttheir right. The monk exhorted everyone to follow thisprinciple and to never kill or hurt any living being.

Kulaputra was highly impressed by the sermon and theprinciple of Ahimsa illustrated by the monk and then andthere, he decided to take a vow never ever to kill a livingbeing for food, no matter what happened.

After a couple of years there was a severe drought in thecity. Fields dried up, crops died and grain became scarce.The drought was so severe that most people left town andeven the strictest vegetarians changed their diet. Fish andsmall animals such as rabbits, deer, chicken and pigs whichwere found in the nearby jungles became the main source offood. Such a development posed a challenge to Kulaputra’svow of Ahimsa. Because of his vow he could neither catchfish nor eat any other living animal. Many days passed andthere was hardly any food in the house but he did not breakhis vow. Kulaputra even went to the jungle in search of food

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but he could only find some wild berries and his familyremained hungry.

One day his wife got frustrated and said, “Can’t you see thatour children are starving? Don’t you feel their hunger? Can’tyou bring something for them to eat? Please bring somefish, so that I can feed them. I cannot hear their criesanymore.”

Kulaputra told her, “My dear, I have gone looking for foodeverywhere but I am unable to find anything. I will go againbut I cannot kill a fish and eat it. I cannot take another livingbeing’s life to save ours. We are vegetarians. I love ourchildren and I’m also pained at seeing their hunger but I alsolove all living beings and I have vowed never to hurt or killanother living being.”

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But his wife kept beseeching him, telling him to think oftheir hungry children and Kulaputra’s brother-in-law forciblytook him to the riverbank to catch fish for the family. Hiswife’s pleadings and the cries of his hungry children madeKulaputra go along unhappily and with deep regret he threwhis net into water. To his surprise, he caught the most fish.But as he was pulling them out of water he saw the fishthrashing about, uneasy and restless. The sight of thegasping and thrashing fishes moved him. He could not beartheir suffering, so he released them.

He tried three times and each time he released the fish thathe caught. He could not take it anymore so he renouncedeverything and went on a fast until death.

Because of his good karmas of not killing anyone heaccumulated punya and after his death was born as a richmerchant Manihar’s son, in the city of Rajagruhi, and wasnamed Damanak. But that is another story.

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“Bhaiya, please tell us the story” Aparna pleaded.

“I will tell you all later. First tell me what our attitude shouldbe towards all living beings?”

Urja raised her hand. “Yes, Urja?”

“Bhaiya, we should have an attitude of compassion.”

“Very good Urja, you are absolutely right.” Amit said.

Hearing Urja being praised, Vidyamaan became grumpyand said, “Amit bhaiya, she only knows because Maa toldus. Even I know that we should be kind to everyone just asLord Mahavir was kind to Chandkaushik.”

Amit smiled and said, “Yes, Vidyamaan, it’s very good thatyou both know so much about our religion. You are rightthat we should be kind and compassionate to everyone.What else should our behavior be like? Gaurav, you tell me?”

“Bhaiya, we should never tell a lie or steal anything.”

“Excellent, Gaurav! These two are very important principleswe should follow. We should always speak the truth. I willtell you the story of King Hansa who had taken the vow toalways speak the truth.

Once upon a time, there was the city of Rajpur, which wasruled by king Hansa. He was a fair and just king and wasknown for his vows of truth and non-violence.

One day in the month of Chaitra, King Hansa decided tovisit Mount Ratnasrhinga on which was situated a beautifultemple of Lord Rishabhdev or Adinath Bhagwan. Peoplecame from far and wide to visit and worship at this temple.

So, King Hansa entrusted his kingdom to his council ofministers and changed out of his royal robes, crown and

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jewellery into simple clothes and alongwith a few of hiscourtiers left for his religious yatra.

However, just after a few days, his kingdom was attacked bythe neighbouring king named Arjuna. Although they put upa brave fight, King Hansa’s army was defeated and many ofhis generals lost their lives on the battlefield. King Arjunagained victory over King Hansa’s throne and captured hispalace and treasury.

A couple of messengers reached King Hansa and relayedthe story of their defeat. The courtiers who wereaccompanying him were very upset and advised that theyshould return to the city.

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But king Hansa remained unperturbed and said, “I havetemporarily given up my kingdom to fulfil my yatra and I willnot return without having darshan of Adinath bhagwan. So,let us proceed to the temple.”

The king’s courtiers were unhappy about the king’s decisionand worried about the safety of their families at home soone by one they all dropped out until only one servant wasleft with the king.

On the way to the temple they had to cross a dense forestand the king and his servant got separated in the forest.

As the king walked on, a deer suddenly ran in front of himand disappeared. Hot in pursuit came a hunter with a bowin his hand and he asked the king if he had seen the deer.

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The king was in a dilemma. He had vowed to never tell a liebut he knew that if he told the truth, the deer would getkilled. So, he didn’t answer the hunter’s question andinstead said that he came from Rajpur. When the hunterasked him again about the deer, king Hansa answered thathe was the king.

The hunter thought he was a mad man who was talking ofirrelevant matters and so he left angrily.

King Hansa too continued walking and after some timebecame tired and rested under a tree. He overheard tworobbers who were hidden in a nearby bush discussing theirplan of robbing monks who would pass through this way inthe next two days.

While the king was thinking about what to do, some soldiersappeared and asked him if he had seen any suspiciouspeople around. They told him that those people wererobbers who robbed and harmed monks and passersby andthat they had orders to behead them.

The king was once again in a dilemma of whether to tell thetruth or not. If he told the soldiers about the robbers theywould be killed and if he did not, the monks would beharmed. He thought, “By telling the truth if someone isgoing to get harmed or killed then telling that truth is not thetruth. Truth is supposed to protect and not harm anyone.”

He said, “My friends, you have been asked to guard themonks. Why not go and escort the monks through theforest.” The soldiers took his advice and left to protect themonks.

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The robbers who were hiding in the bush heard thisconversation. They were touched by the mercy shown bythis stranger. They came out and thanked him for savingtheir lives, and told him that they were at his service. Theking said, “My dear friends, give up harassing and robbingpeople and become good human beings otherwise the nexttime you will not be lucky to escape.”

The robbers promised him that they would not rob anyoneanymore and would try to become good human beings andleft.

King Hansa proceeded on his way. Suddenly, a group ofhorsemen accosted him and asked him if he had seen kingHansa.

The king asked, “What do you want from king Hansa?”

They explained that they were the soldiers of king Arjunaand they had been entrusted with the task of catching andkilling king Hansa.

King Hansa thought for a moment and then said, “I am kingHansa. You are free to carry out your duty as ordered byyour king.” Saying this, he closed his eyes, stood with foldedhands and began reciting the Navkar Mantra.

Suddenly, a dev appeared and said, “Oh, king! Yourtruthfulness and compassion have touched me. I have madeking Arjun your prisoner and wrested control of yourkingdom from him. Today is Chaudash, a good day forworship but the temple is too far from here and you will notbe able to reach there on time. My chariot is at your service.Please let me take you there.”

King Hansa was surprised and gratified by the miraculousturn of the events. Escorted by the dev, he reached the

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summit of Ratnasringa in time to have darshan and do puja.The dev then escorted him to his kingdom and departed.King Hansa resumed control of his kingdom and pardoneda penitent King Arjun and released his soldiers immediately.Thus, he once again, ruled the city of Rajpur, and had a longand happy reign.

“So, children just as King Hansa, we all must also alwaysendeavour to speak the truth and should try to remainunperturbed in the face of adversity. Besides being truthfulwe should also not steal or take something which belongs tosomeone else without first asking them.”

“But Bhaiya supposing I find a coin on the road and there isno one around then I can take it na?” asked Vidyamaan.

“No, Vidyamaan you should never take something whichdoesn’t belong to you.” Amit answered.

“But bhaiya then what should I do with the coin?”Vidyamaan persisted.

“You can give it to some poor person” Sapna said.

“That is a very good idea, Sapna. Whenever you findsomething which doesn’t belong to you, donate it tosomeone who needs it. Do you know you all are truefollowers of Lord Mahavir?”

“How Bhaiya?” the children asked.

“Because you already know most principles which LordMahavir taught us. Lord Mahavir said that there are fivemost important principles which we should follow. They areAhimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya and Aparigraha. I’llwrite it down for you.”

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Amit got up and wrote on the whiteboard on the wall.

Ahimsa means non-violence.

Satya means to tell the truth always

Asteya means not to take anything which doesn’t belongto you

Brahamcharya means to be chaste

Aparigraha means to have a non-materialistic attitude.

The first three you already know, I’ll explain the next two.Brahamcharya or chastity means to have control over onessenses. This means not indulging in physical pleasures.”

“Bhaiya what does this mean?” Ankur asked.

Amit thought for a moment and then said, “In simple termsit means that when you grow up and get married you shouldremain faithful to your partner.”

“Bhaiya, this principle is useless for me because I havedecided I will never marry. I hate girls.” Vidyamaan wasvehement in his views.

The entire class burst out laughing.

“Thank God! some poor girl has been saved from marryinghim” Urja made a smart rejoinder.

“Jiji, keep quiet. Amit Bhaiya, this is why I don’t want tomarry. Girls keep on making stupid jokes.”

“What about Ekta?” Urja asked

Vidyamaan looked at her angrily. “Keep quiet”

But Urja went on undeterred. “Amit Bhaiya, there is a girl inhis class, Ekta whom he really likes.”

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“So what? She is a friend. That doesn’t mean that I want tomarry her” Vidyamaan said pugnaciously.

“Children, hold on. We are going off the track here! Urjadon’t tease Vidyamaan. He is a sweet boy.”

Hearing himself being described thus restored Vidyamaan’sgood mood and he began beaming.

Amit went on, “Now the next principle Aparigraha means tohave no attachment to people or material things. Thismeans that you should not be too attached to worldly thingsbecause once you are not attached to things you will not tryto possess them.”

“Bhaiya what does this mean?” Santosh asked.

“Santosh, first tell me, what does your name mean?

“Bhaiya, my name means satisfaction or contentment.”Santosh said with pride.

“Well said! Aparigraha also means not to accumulate thingsand to be satisfied and content. We should not be greedy foranything and we should only buy what we need whether it istoys, clothes, books or cars.”

“Bhaiya, Urja jiji has many dolls and clothes but still shewants more.” Vidyamaan immediately butted in.

“Look who’s talking? You have more cars and trucks thanyou need but still you pester mom for more.” Urjaimmediately retaliated.

“Don’t fight children!” Amit admonished them. “What youhave done till now doesn’t matter but now you must vow totry and limit your possessions.”

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“But Bhaiya, supposing I have a truck but a better truckcomes and if I save my pocket money, then why should I notbuy it?” Vidyamaan persisted.

“Alright supposing you buy that truck and another modelcomes along. Then what will you do?”

“I will buy it too.”

“And what will you do when another model comes? Willyou buy it too?”

“No Bhaiya, my pocket money will be finished and Momwill not let me buy another one.” Vidyamaan said sadly.

“Then you will feel sad na?” Amit asked.

“Yes, Bhaiya I will feel very sad” Vidyamaan said.

“Now imagine that you are walking on the road sadlywishing you could buy that truck and suddenly you findsome money on the road. What will you do?”

“Wow Bhaiya ! I will take it and buy the truck.” Vidyamaanimmediately said. But then he thought and said, “But it willbe wrong because you said we should not take anythingwhich doesn’t belong to us. So, I think I will not buy it” hesaid dejectedly.

Amit patted Vidyamaan on the head, “Very good,Vidyamaan. You are a quick learner. This is the point I amtrying to make. Greed always increases with possessionsand the more we have the more we want. Sometimes ourdesire for material things can make us so desperate that wemay even resort to stealing to fulfil that desire. But if youdecide right from the beginning not to buy too many toys orto limit the number of toys that you have then you will neverfeel disturbed or unhappy. We will learn to be content and

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live happily with what we need rather than going onaccumulating more and more just because we like it.”

“Bhaiya, you are right, in school also our teacher has taughtus to follow the three R’s which are Reuse, Recycle andReduce. She told us that by following these three rules wecan save our environment and reduce global warming.”Priyanka said.

“Well said, Priyanka ! The beliefs of our religion and the wayof life that Jainism advocates are aimed at enabling humanbeings to live harmoniously with the environment.”

Now I think we should finish the class for today. I will seeyou all tomorrow same time.”

Word MeaningWord MeaningAarti – religious prayer in the form of a song which is

sung with lighted diyasAccompany – go withAccosted – waylaid, confrontedAdversity – hardship, difficultyAdvocated – promotedAmple – sufficient, enoughAuspicious – favourable, fortunateBenediction – blessingBeseeching – insisting, pleadingButted – rammedConduct – behaviourCourtiers – king’s advisorsDarshan – to seeDejectedly – sadly, miserably

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Drought – famineEndeavour – try hard to do somethingEntrusted – handed over in good faithExhorted – urged, pushedGasping – out of breathGratified – grateful, appreciativeHarassing – troublingHarmoniously – amicably, cordiallyIrrelevant – immaterailMockingly – sarcasticallyMouthed – form words silently through the mouthPersisted – perseveredPugnaciously – quick to argue or fightRefreshed – re-energized, rejuvenatedRejoinder – responseRestored – reinstated, returnSermon – lectureSincerely – genuinelySummit – peakSuspicious – doubtful, dubiousThrashing – beatingUndeterred – persevering despite setbacksVehement – passionate, heatedWrested – take forcibly

Yatra – journey

❑❑❑

“Bhaiya, please tell us another story. Please just one.”Anubhav beseeched.

“Alright I will tell you the story of Gunadhar. Once upon atime there was a wealthy merchant called Gundhar. He wasextremely rich but led a simple and content life. One day, hewent to listen to a Muni Maharaj who had come to his city.

The Muni was giving a sermon on the importance of limitingone’s wants and desires. He spoke about Aparigraha andtold them about Adattadan which means to acquiresomething by wrong means or without the owner’spermission. The Muni exhorted the listeners not to takeanything which didn’t belong to them. When the sermonwas over, the merchant came near the Muni, bowed inhomage and took the vow that he would never takeanything which didn’t belong to him.

The merchant followed his vow religiously. After somemonths the merchant had to travel to another country forbusiness. He started on horseback with a convoy of cartsloaded with merchandise. When the convoy reached adense forest, a gang of robbers attacked and overpoweredand tied up the merchant’s men and although the merchantfought valiantly he was driven away. The dacoits drove awaywith the carts and the merchant lost his way in the denseforest. After some time he came across the convoy’sfootprints and he began tracking them.

On the way, he found a twinkling diamond necklace on theground. Though he had lost a fortune he was not tempted

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into picking it up the necklace. He struck his horse with hisheels and put it to gallop. As the horse was galloping its hoofstruck something on the ground and the horse stopped. Themerchant dug the ground where the horse’s hoof had struckand discovered a jar full of precious stones and jewels. Butwithout being tempted, with perfect detachment, themerchant left the jar and made the horse gallop at greaterspeed. But misfortune struck and the horse suddenlydropped down exhausted and died on the spot. Themerchant felt extremely guilty because he felt that he hadcaused the premature death of the horse by making himgallop too fast.

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In despair, he saidaloud: “Oh, if onlysomeone couldrestore my horseto life, I would givehim my wholetreasure.” But, hishopes were in vainand the merchanthad no choice butto leave his deadhorse and proceedon foot.

While proceedingalone through thedense forest themerchant becamevery thirsty, butthere was no water,no pond or lake to be seen anywhere. Suddenly he espied aclay pot hanging from a tree. It seemed to be full of water.He came beneath the tree, but he remembered his vow, andshouted, “To whom does this jar belong? I am very thirsty.”

On another branch of the same tree, hung a cage with aparrot inside. The parrot squawked, “This belongs to aHakim. He has gone in search of herbs for medicines in theforest. Nobody knows when he may come back. If you arethirsty, you may drink from the jar.”

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Gundhar’s throat was parched with thirst and he couldbarely speak or walk. But he replied, “I may die from thirstbut I cannot take anything without the owner’s permission.”

He sat down with his eyes closed and his hands folded andbegan uttering the Namokar mantra. Complete silencesurrounded him and even the birds seemed to have stoppedchirping. He opened his eyes and found to his surprise thatneither the clay pot nor the parrot or the cage were there.

Instead, there stood a Dev who said, “Sire, I am a Vidyadharand my name is Sur. The monk who had come to your cityis my father. I had gone to pay my respects to him when hewas delivering the discourse in your city. I had witnessedyou taking the vow of Adattadan. And your vow had mademe curious because I had gathered that you are a merchantand you would have to travel far and wide for business. I hadserious doubts that you would be able to honor your vow.Therefore, I decided to test you by laying all these traps, thenecklace, the jar full of treasure and water in the clay pot. Ialso made your horse fall unconscious and made it seemthat he had died. The clay pot, the cage and the parrot wereall placed by me on the tree. And I am extremely happy tosee that you have passed the test successfully and have notwavered in your determination to carry out your vow. Yourwill power is truly commendable”.

The Vidyadhar then produced the necklace, the horse andthe jar of treasure and gifted them all to the merchant.

Gundhar said, “Why are you giving me all these things?”

The Vidyadhar answered, “When I was young my fatherused to tell me about Aparigraha and Adattadan. He warnedme to limit my desires and not be greedy but I didn’t listen tohim and spent my youth in careless pleasures. But a tragic

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incident made me realize the futility of material attachmentand I vowed to cultivate total detachment. And today in you,I see someone who has achieved total detachment even inthe face of adversity. Therefore, I want to make a gift ofeverything I own to you.”

Gundhar said, “But I cannot take these gifts!”

The Vidyadhar said, “Yes, you can because all these objectsbelong to me and I have gifted them to you.”

Gundhar said, “Very well. But when my horse had fallendead I had vowed to bestow all my fortune on the one whowould restore it to life and since you have done so, you arehenceforth the rightful owner of everything I own.”

The Vidyadhar said, “I know you will not break your vow butI have no need of this treasure so what should we do?”

Gundhar thought for a moment and said, “Since neither ofus has any use for it we shall gift this treasure for social orreligious purpose.”

The solution appealed to the Dev and they donated the jarand the necklace to the city council for public good. They setthe parrot free.

Gundhar also recovered his convoy when the policecaptured the gang of thieves. From that day onwards,Gundhar adopted the religious way of life even moresincerely and became immersed in Dharma-Dhyan.

He spent the rest of his life following the Jain principlesfaithfully and was reborn in his next life as Lakshmipunj inHastinapur to Sudharma and Dhanna. His birth turned thefortunes of his parents and they became affluent andwealthy.” Amit finished the story.

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“Remember these five principles and try and follow them asmuch as you can in your daily life. Jai Jinendra, we will meettomorrow!”

“Jai Jinendra, Bhaiya,” the chidren chorused and went insearch of their mothers. Urja and Vidyamaan found Maawaiting for them and they went home chattering all the wayabout the class.

“It seems you both learnt a lot today” Maa said.

“Yes, Maa, Bhaiya taught us many things and I reallyenjoyed listening to him” Urja answered.

“He told us stories also. We will go tomorrow also”Vidyamaan said.

They reached home and found Nanaji waiting for them.They greeted him and told him everything about the class.He too was happy to know that they had learnt so manythings.

While they were talking to Nanaji, Maa had gone into thekitchen. She came out bearing a glass of milk and some dryfruits. She served them to Nanaji and said, “Today again youmissed your dinner. What happened? Why were youdelayed?”

Nanaji answered, “I had an important meeting and it carriedon till 7 ‘o’ clock. So, I couldn’t reach in time.”

“Nanaji, you can have dinner now.” Vidyamaan said.

“Nanaji also eats before sunset” Urja explained.

“But Nanaji, you must be hungry! Can’t you eat just today?”“What difference will it make?” Vidyamaan asked.

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“No, beta, a vow is a vow. Staying a little hungry for one daywill not harm me. Have you heard the story of Keshav, theboy who took the vow to eat before sunset?”

When the children nodded in denial he said “I will tell youthe story before sleeping.” The children immediately rushedin to wash their hands and feet and changed into theirnightclothes and were in the bed in a jiffy.

Word MeaningWord MeaningAdopted – acceptedAffluent – wealthyBestow – grantCommendable – admirable, laudableConvoy – groupCultivate – growDespair – misery, anguishDetachment – aloofness, objectivityDharma dhyan – immersed in religious doctrinesEspied – noticedFutility – uselessnessGalloped – dashedHakim – a desi doctor who uses herbs to treat ailmentsHomage – respectJiffy – momentMerchandise – goodsMisfortune – bad luckOverpowered – beaten, overcomeParched – driedPremature – untimely, before timeSquawked – screechedTempted – lured, enticedValiantly – bravely, courageously

❑❑❑

Nanaji came and the children curled up on his either sideand he began, “Once upon a time in the town ofKundanpur, there lived a merchant named Yashodhar andhis wife, Rambha. They had two sons, Hans who wasthirteen and Keshav, who was fifteen years old. Thebrothers were inseparable and did everything togetherwhether it was studying, playing or eating. In the morningboth of them went to school and in the evening they helpedout their father in his shop.

One day, they went to a park to play. There they saw a JainMuni who was giving a sermon. The two brothers sat downto listen to the Muni. The Muni spoke about the value ofnon-violence or ‘Ahimsa’. He said that we should alwaysfollow the path of ‘Ahimsa’ and in our daily life we shouldobserve certain principles so that we commit minimumviolence.

The Muni spoke about the importance of eating beforesunset. The Muni told the audience that eating after sunsetwas not only unhealthy for the body but also resulted in“hinsa” because eating at night meant that countless “jeev”were killed. So, one should avoid eating after sunset andshould eat one’s dinner before sunset.

The Muni’s words touched a chord deep inside them andthey decided to always eat their dinner before sunset. In thepresence of the Muni, they took the vow of not eating foodat night. The Muni lauded their resolve and with his wordsinspired them to remain steadfast in their vow.

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The brothers returned home. They asked their mother toserve them food before sunset. Their mother couldn’tunderstand why they were saying this. The family was in thehabit of eating food late at night. They told their motherabout the vow they had taken but she didn’t take it seriously.

She laughed and said, “Don’t pull my leg. I know you aretrying to play a naughty prank.”

But when the boys insisted saying they were serious sherebuked them and told them not to behave foolishly byindulging in such odd things.

Later, as was customary, food was served at night.

As Yasodhar sat down for dinner, he inquired about hissons. They came in and sat down but would not eatanything. Rambha told Yashodhar about the boys’ vow.

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Yashodhar also thought that the boys were playing a prankand said, “Enough of your mischief! Come and have yourfood.”

But the boys remained steadfast and refused to touch theirplates.

Faced with their obdurate attitude Yashodhar becamefurious and said, “Don’t act big for your age. You arechildren and you should behave like children. I will not haveyou turning into agents of some other religion. I won’t allowthis in my family.”

But the two brothers remained adamant.

Jasodhar then tried to reason with the boys, “This is neitherthe habit nor the custom in our family. You are going againstour family traditions.” But the boys went to bed withoutfood.

Yashodhar asked his wife not to give the boys any foodduring the day, so that their hunger would force them to eatwhen food was served at night.

The next day, their mother just served breakfast and whenthe boys asked her to give them dinner before sunset, shesaid, “Food will be ready at night. There is nothingremaining from the morning which you can take. So,behave like good boys and have your dinner at night withyour father. It is your duty to abide by the wishes of yourparents.”

The two brothers went to their father’s shop without eatinganything and carried out their regular duties. At night, thefather again asked the boys to have dinner but both of themdeclined and went to sleep hungry. Jasodhar gave strictinstructions to his wife to remain steadfast in not serving

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food to them during the day. He warned her not to give intoemotions or feel sorry for the boys. The next day, the fathermade the boys carry out such a heavy load of duties thatthey had no time to eat food during daytime. Althoughhungry the boys again declined to eat at night. In this way,five days passed with the boys remaining hungry andrefusing to eat at night.

On the sixth day, Jasodhar sent for both of them. He triedhard to persuade them to give up the vow. He tried logic andreasoning arguing that people had been eating food late atnight since ages and that there was nothing wrong in it. Hesaid that if eating at night had been unhealthy or immoralsurely so many people wouldn’t do so but majority of thepeople ate at night and there was nothing wrong with it.Then he tried to use emotional blackmail saying that theirmother was also on fast because of them, and hadn’t eatenfor the past five days. He further added that everybody inthe family was miserable because of their vow and askedthem to change their stubborn attitude.

Of the two brothers the younger boy, Hans was unable tobear his hunger any longer and was slowly giving way. Fullof indecision, he looked at Keshav for guidance. But Keshavremained steadfast as a rock. He told his father that they hadtaken the vow to eat before sunset and they wouldn’t give itup. He added that in doing so they weren’t hurting anyoneand so it shouldn’t matter to anyone.

Yashodhar again demanded that the boys give up the vow.

Keshav replied humbly, “I respect you, father but you shouldnot interfere in this religious matter. It is a matter ofpersonal choice and I should be allowed to do as I want.”

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Jasodhar could no longer contain himself. He burst out inextreme rage, “How dare you say all this you bad boy? Thisis my house and you have to obey me. If you don’t obey me,I won’t allow you to stay in my house. Get out at once. Idon’t ever want to see your face.”

Although faced with his father’s anger and the threat ofbecoming homeless Keshav did not waver. He preferredcourting hardship to giving up the vow. He left his parentalhome. Hans had been looking with dismay at theproceedings and was about to follow him when his fatherheld his arm and stopped him. He pleaded emotionally withHans not to leave his poor parents alone. Hans whoseresolve had been weakened by hunger submitted to hisfather’s emotional plea, stayed back and sat down to dine.

After leaving his home, Keshav walked a long distance till hereached the outskirts of his town. By now it was evening.On looking around he saw a Yaksha temple nearby wheremany devotees had assembled to offer worship. Theyoffered their prayers and sang aarti and after the ritual wasover were about to partake of the offerings when they saw

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Keshav. They welcomed him as an honoured guest andoffered him some fruits and sweets and begged him toaccept them as prasad.

Keshav was in a dilemma. If he accepted their offer, hewould break the vow and if he declined, he would seemrude. But he tried to explain his dilemma and said, “Friends,I am under a vow not to eat anything at night, and I can’ttransgress it. In fact I have had to leave my home too on thisvery issue. So kindly excuse me because I cannot give up myvow!”

The devotees wouldn’t listen and persisted, “But, Sir, youare our guest, and to entertain a guest is a part of worship.Our worship will be in vain if you don’t accept our offer.Unless you eat, no one else will eat, and we will becompelled to go without food. Therefore, for our sakes,please eat with us.”

But Keshav remained firm and didn’t waver. The devoteescontinued to plead. Arguments and counter-argumentsreached an impasse, and there seemed no resolution insight.

Just then a giant emerged out of the idol and advancedtoward Keshav and thundered, “Keshav! Stop acting in sucha haughty manner. My devotees have been fasting andbecause of your stubbornness are unable to eat. Don’t makesilly excuses. Come and eat. Otherwise, I will wipe out yourexistence.” He brandished his mace threateningly.

Even the threat of certain death was not enough to moveKeshav and he remained resolute and firm. He closed hiseyes and stood silent and still in a trance. He was ready forthe worst.

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The Yaksha saw that his threats and coercion had failed tomove Keshav so, he changed his tactics. He ordered hisdevotees to bring Keshav’s master, the Jain Muni, who hadencouraged him to take up the vow and who alone couldnow change his mind and induce him to eat.

His devotees started at once and returned with a Muni whohad been tied fast with ropes. It was the same Muni,Dharmaghosha whose sermon had influenced Keshav andHans.

As soon as the Muni saw Keshav, he lamented, “Oh my dearchild, what have you done? Why have you offended thisYaksha?”

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Keshav looked at the Muni and understood that this was notthe Jain Muni who had inspired him. It was an illusionaryfigure which the Yaksha had created as part of a plan.

The Yaksha addressed the Muni, “Muni ! Permit yourfollower to eat food now. Otherwise, I will put you to death.”

The Muni beseeched Keshav, “Keshav, my child, because ofyour vow our lives are in danger. Renounce your vow. If youhave any consideration for me, give up the vow for todayand take the offering. It is not wrong if one breaks a vow forthe sake of a Dev or one’s guru. It is not a sin to break a vowand you can follow it again later.”

Keshav replied, “My master follows the path of the Jina,who is free from all attachments. There is no room for fearon such a path. So, a man who is inducing me to give up thevow out of fear for his life cannot be my guru. You are anillusionary figure created by the Yaksha’s magic. My guruwould never ever ask me to break my vow.”

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The Yaksha became furious at this argument. He shouted,“You wretched boy ! Eat at once or I will send your gururolling on the ground!”

Keshav said, “This is not my guru. My guru is a true guru.You would never even have the courage to look into hisface.”

The Muni said in a shaking voice with quivering lips,“Keshav, don’t doubt my identity. I am the same Muni whoencouraged you to take up the vow. I am now exhorting youto eat so that I may be saved.”

As he said this, tears began rolling down the Muni’s cheeksand he seemed unable to stand any longer.

The Yaksha caught hold of him and dashed him to theground. The Muni fell down on the ground, senseless.

Then, picking up his mace, the Yaksha said to Keshav, “Allis not lost yet. If you are ready to renounce your vow andprepared to partake of the offering, I shall restore your guruto life. For your devotion to your guru I will also bestow avast kingdom on you. Untold wealth will be yours and youwill never want for anything. But I warn you if you declinenow then you will suffer the same fate as your guru. I shallsmash you to pieces.”

Keshav replied with equanimity, “This is not my guru. Yousay you can bestow a kingdom on me and make me rich.But I have no need of a kingdom. It would be better, if youbestow it upon your own followers, so that they may be aricher. You say you can restore a dead man to life then whydon’t you restore your most devoted followers who aredead? As to death, it is inevitable and unavoidable for all.Sooner or later I will die. I am not afraid of death. But I will

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not renounce my vow out of fear or out of greed.” He gazedat the Yaksha fearlessly.

The Yaksha changed his strategy. He embraced Keshav andsaid, “You speak the truth. This man is not your guru. He isa creation of my magical powers. I created him to test yoursteadfastness. It is also true that no one can restore a deadman to life, nor can one bestow a kingdom on another. I willnot force you to break your vow.”

Then the devotees who stood around Keshav and theYaksha folded their hands and bowed their heads and said,“Sir, we understand that you will only eat after sunrise. Youmust be tired, having covered such a long distance on foot.We are sorry for having caused so much trouble to you. Webeg you to lie down and enjoy a well-earned rest. If you willtake food only after sunrise, we shall also do the same.”

They spread some chatais on the floor and Keshav lay downon it. Worn out from his travails he was soon fast asleep.

After some time, the Yaksha woke him up and announcedthat the sun had risen. Keshav rubbed his eyes and stoodup.

All his devotees too got up and invited Keshav to wash hisface and hands and partake of the offerings. He lookedaround and saw that it really was daylight, but a sixth sensewarned him that it was again a trick being played by theYaksha. He had a feeling that he hadn’t slept for long and itcould not be morning so soon.

He told the Yaksha, “The sun is not yet up. I will pray first.”

The devotees and the Yaksha began advancing at himthreateningly. But Keshav closed his eyes and began

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reciting the Namokar Mantra. The din around him vanishedand there was a dead silence.

When, Keshav opened his eyes, he saw to his surprise thateveryone had vanished. There was nothing left, neither thetemple, nor the Yaksha nor the devotees. Instead, thereappeared a glowing figure, who spoke solemnly, “Keshav !You have passed your test. You are fulfilling the vow withthe same steadfastness with which you started it. Yesterdayin the assembly of devs, a dev praised you eloquently foryour steadfastness and determination. I didn’t believe thatyou could remain steadfast for long. So, I decided to testyou. And you have proved me wrong. Today, I have proof ofyour strong will and firm resolve. The ordeal that youunderwent was all my creation and I am sorry for the troublecaused to you. I crave your forgiveness and want to grantyou a boon.”

Keshav replied, “Your blessings are all that I require. Blessme that I may continue to fulfill my vow until the end of mylife. I don’t need anything else.”

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But the Dev insisted, “Still I want to bestow something onyou. So, ask for something.”

Keshav responded, “But, Sire, as you see, I hardly needanything. I am content.”

The Dev said, “Don’t deprive me of the pleasure ofbestowing something upon you. I give you the boon that thewater which washes the first toe of your foot will heal anydisease for good. When in difficulty, you will attain whateveryou will crave for. Nothing is unattainable for the virtuous.”

The Dev then placed Keshav on the outskirts of a city andvanished. The name of the city was Saketa and KingDhananjay was the ruler.

It was morning and Keshav entered the city determined tofind a temple and offer his prayers before eating something.He found a temple and as he went inside he saw that areligious assembly was in progress. Acharya Dharmashriwas giving a discourse to the people assembled there.Keshav also sat down to listen.

King Dhananjay was also present in the assembly and waslistening to the Acharya’s discourse. For quite some time theking had been desirous of renouncing the world and joiningthe holy order but he had been unable to take this stepbecause of want of a son and successor.

When the discourse was over, the king said to the Acharya,“Maharaj! I had a dream last night where I saw that intoday’s assembly there will be a young man who will aid mein my spiritual journey by setting me free from mypredicament of finding a worthy successor. Please enlightenme further about the dream and help me find the personwhom I can choose as my successor.”

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The Acharya’s spiritual powers and superior knowledgeenabled him to solve the King’s problem. He pointedtowards Keshav and said, “Here is the young man indicatedin your dream. His name is Keshav. A Dev tested hissteadfastness and he deemed him worthy of being a king.”

The king was elated. He would finally be able to leave for hisspiritual journey. He came to Keshav, embraced him andtook him to the palace. Keshav was enthroned as the king ofSaketa. Dhananjay joined the holy order.

Keshav was a wise and just ruler and the people loved andrespected him. One day, Keshav was seated at the palacewindow when his gaze fell upon an old man in the streetwho was wearing tattered and filthy clothes. He seemed thevery embodiment of poverty and misery. Keshavimmediately recognized him as his father. He came out ofhis palace and touched Yashodhar’s feet. The old man’s joy

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knew no bounds. He had never thought he would see hisson again. And he was stunned to learn that his long lost sonwas now a king.

Keshav brought his father to the palace and ordered hisservants to tend to his father and serve food. After his fatherhad bathed and eaten, Keshav enquired about his brotherand mother.

His father hung his head and said sadly, “It is a very tragictale. After you left, I forced Hans to break the vow. He satdown to dine with me, but as soon as he had eaten he fellviolently sick. We called in the doctor at once who told usthat the food he ate had become contaminated with a deadlypoison. The poison soon spread through his body andalthough I called many doctors who all tried their best tocure him Hans did not recover. The doctors have forecastthat Hans will not survive beyond a month. I could not bearto see his terrible agony and I set out in search of youbecause the only thing that Hans kept on saying was yourname. And now, I have found you. Today it is a month sinceI left home and I don’t know if Hans is alive or dead.”

Keshav consoled his father and decided to leave immediatelyto meet his brother. By the grace of the Dev, they reachedhis father’s house in a moment. His grieving mother huggedhim with tear-filled eyes. Hans who was lying on his sickbed greeted his brother’s arrival with folded hands and tearsrolling down his cheeks.

Keshav stood by his brother’s bed and saw that Hans’s bodywas emitting a foul smell and his flesh had shrunk. It was anunbearable sight. Keshav felt miserable and bowed his headin despair. Suddenly, he recalled that the Dev had endowedhim with magical healing powers. He immediately turned to

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his mother and gave her instructions to make the potion. Inno time the potion was ready and Keshav sprinkled it onHans’s body. Lo! and behold, his rotting flesh beganhealing. In no time, Hans became all right.

It was a day of great rejoicing and happy reunion. The storyof Keshav’s magical powers spread throughout the city, andother sick people came with their ailments and were cured.Thereafter, Keshav took his family to Saketa where he ruledfor many years as a wise and just king. The king issued aspecial proclamation, which the people gladly followed:

“Desist from eating at night.”

Word MeaningWord MeaningAbide – obey, bearAdvancing – comingAilments – illnessAssembled – gatheredBrandished – wieldedChatais – bamboo mats used to sit on the floorCoercion – forceCompelled – forcedContaminated – infectedCourting – invitingDeclined – refusedDeemed – thought, believedDesirous – wanting to, longing forElated – overjoyedEmbodiment – personification, symbolEmbraced – huggedEquanimity – composure, calmnessForecast – predict

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Grieving – mourningHaughty – proud, arrogantIllusionary – unrealImmoral – morally wrongImpasse – deadlock, a situation where there is no

progressInducing – suggestingInevitable – expectedInseparable – always together, indivisibleLamented – cried, mournedLauded – praisedMace – club, stickObdurate, Adamant – obstinateOffended – angeredOrdeal – painful experience, tormentPartake – sharePredicament – quandary, messProceedings – goings on, happeningsProclaimed – announcedRebuked – reprimanded, scoldedRejoicing – delighted, joyfulResolution – firm decisionResolve – decide, determinationStrategy – planSubmitted – acceptedTactics – strategyTattered – torn, shreddedThundered – made a loud noiseTrance – dream, dazeTravails – painful effortsWaver – hesitate, ditherWretched – vile, shamefulYaksha – a celestial being especially one who

bestows wealth

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Nanaji ended his story saying, “Children whatever vow wetake up should be followed with determination andsteadfastness. Would you still like me to have my dinnernow?”

“No, Nanaji you are right. We should remain firm on ourvow.” Urja said.

“Nanaji, please tell us another story about a vow”Vidyamaan pleaded.

“Alright I’ve just remembered a story about a boy who wasabout your age and what he did when he took a vow” Nanajisaid.

“He was my age when he took a vow? Even I will take avow!” Vidyamaan was thoroughly excited.

“First listen to the story then we will see. Once upon a timein a village in Gujarat lived Shripat Sheth and his wifeSundari who were extremely religious and pious Jains.

They observed all vows of Jainism such as eating beforesunset, going to the temple, doing Swadhaya, practicingahimsa and helping others. But their son, Kamalsen keptaway from all this. He used to waste his time in wanderinghere and there and kept the company of spoilt boys. He didnot believe in religion and never went to the temple.Kamalsen’s parents had tried everything to make their sonimbibe the values of Jainism but in vain. They remainedquite upset and anxious about Kamalsen’s lack of devotionand spirituality but they didn’t know what to do.

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One day Shri Shilandhar Acharya came to their village andthey went to hear his sermon. They told him about theirproblem and requested the Muni to talk to their son so thathe changed his ideas and way of life. The Muni agreed andasked them to send their son to him the next day.

On reaching home, Shripat Seth said to Kamalsen, “Myson, a great muni has come to our village. He is very learnedand I want you to come with me and listen to him.”

The next day the parents took their son to the temple andafter bowing to the Acharya they sat down to listen. TheAcharya spoke at length about the basic tenets of Jainismand about the concepts of heaven and hell, misery andhappiness, paap and punya, Kevalgyan and moksh. Afterthe discourse, the Acharya asked Kamalsen “My son, didyou understand what I said?”

Kamalsen bowed his hands and said “Forgive me Acharyaji Iwas so busy noticing the windpipe movements in yourthroat that I didn’t follow what you were saying.”

On hearing this, his parents were filled with dismay andwanted to scold him but the Acharya held up his palm andtold them not to say anything. He told them that the boywould learn only when the time came. The parents took theAcharya’s advice and returned home disappointed.

After some days, another great sage, Acharya Gunsagarsurivisited the village and again the parents took him to listen tothe Muni. The Acharya also spoke about the basic tenets ofJainism in his sermons. But because his preaching was inthe form of stories and incidents, people used to find itextremely interesting. Kamalsen too listened with interestand began to visit the Acharya every day.

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After a few weeks, the timecame for the Acharya toleave town. Kamalsen joinedthe people in sending himoff. Before going the muniasked everyone to observeany one vow in their life.Different people took differentvows. Some vowed to alwayseat before sunset while someothers vowed to forsakeeating potato and other rootvegetables. The Acharyaasked Kamalsen also to takea vow. Kamalsen was silent for a moment and then he said,“I will not tell a lie except in the dark and bright halves of themonth. I shall not put a whole coconut into my mouth norshall I eat cow dung.”

Shripet Sheth and Sundari were very embarrassed at theirson’s ridiculous vows and scolded him. On being scoldedKamalsen felt slightly ashamed of his facetious remarks andto make amends, vowed not to eat lunch without looking atthe bald head of Simelo, the village potter. This was an easyvow for him to follow because his room overlooked thepotter’s cottage and he saw the potter at least a dozen timesa day.

The Acharya was pleased with Kamalsen for taking a vowand blessed him. But his parents remained sad because theyknew Kamalsen had taken the vow just for the sake of takingit.

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One day, Kamalsen was about to eat his lunch when hismother reminded him about his vow. Simelo had not beenseen since morning because he had gone out to the forest todig clay for his pots. Kamalsen immediately ran to the forestto find the bald potter. Meanwhile, in the forest Simelo whohad been digging for clay, found a jar full of gems andprecious stones.

Afraid that someone would see it he began to hide itunderneath a heap of soil.

Just then, Kamalsen who reached there shouted, “I haveseen it, I have seen it.”

Kamalsen was referring to the potter’s bald head, while thepotter thought that Kamalsen was referring to the jar ofgems which he was trying to hide.

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The potter did not want anyone else to know about the jar ofgems because he was afraid he would have to give them up.So, he called Kamalsen and whispered, “I will share this potwith you and give you half of it but only if you don’t tellanyone else.”

At first, Kamalsen was surprised because he didn’tunderstand what the potter was talking about. But when thepotter showed him the pot of jewels he quickly understoodwhat the matter was. He nodded his head and promised andaccepted half the treasure and returned home.

As he was walking home, Kamalsen thought long and deep.He thought, “A vow that I had taken as a joke has given methis much wealth. If I had taken a vow in seriousness it wouldhave been so much more rewarding. The muni wasabsolutely right that vows give us unimaginable riches.”

This incident changed Kamalsen’s attitude totally. Hedecided to follow the tenets of Jainism and to observe vowssincerely. He developed a strong moral character and wenton to lead a happy and prosperous life.

“Wow, I didn’t know that even a small and strange vow canbring untold happiness.” Urja said in wonder.

“Nanaji even I want to take a vow. What vow shall I take?”Vidyamaan asked eagerly.

“Hmm…” Nanaji pretended to think.

“Why don’t you vow not to ever buy any truck?” Urja saidslyly.

Vidyamaan didn’t like the idea and made a face. He thoughtlong and hard and then pronounced, “No, this is a verytough vow. Kamalsen took an easy vow. Even I will take an

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easy vow and then when I grow up I will take a toughervow.”

Nanaji smiled in amusement and Urja began laughing.Vidyamaan looked at her angrily. “Why are you laughing?At least I am taking a vow. You are older than me but you arenot even thinking of it.”

Nanaji interrupted them before a fight broke out. “He’s rightUrja. One should always take a vow out of one’s free will sothat one follows it happily. Why don’t you take a vow toalways tell the truth?”

“But Nanaji, I don’t lie! I always tell the truth” Vidyamaansaid.

“Then it will be easy for you to follow this vow. So, I suggestyou both take this vow” Nanaji said gently.

The children kept silent for a moment.

“Actually Nanaji, sometimes, I do tell a lie. When I broke mytoy truck I hid it and told mom that I couldn’t find it”Vidyamaan said shamefacedly.

“Nanaji, sometimes when I don’t want to drink milk I quietlygive it to the street dog and lie to mom that I have drunk it”Urja too confessed.

Nanaji tried not to smile and said, “Never mind! What youhave done in the past is over. From this moment take thevow to always tell the truth. Telling the truth gives immensestrength and an inner happiness and you will make yourmother extremely proud of her truthful and honestchildren.”

“You are right, Nanaji! I vow that I will always tell the truth”Urja said in an impassioned tone.

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“Jiji, I will also tell the truth and next time if I break my toy Iwill tell mom even if she punishes me!” Vidyamaan saidtrying to be valiant.

Nanaji beamed and hugged them both “Very good!Remember this vow always. Now it’s time to sleep! Goodnight!” The children went off to sleep.

Word MeaningWord MeaningAmends – compensateConfessed – admittedDevotion – great loyalty, religious worshipDismay – disappointmentEmbarrassed – uncomfortable, mortifiedFacetious – teasingImbibe – absorbImmense – hugeImpassioned – emotionalKevalgyan – highest, purest knowledgeLearned – knowledgeablePious – deeply religiousRewarding – satisfyingRidiculous – absurdShamefacedly – awkwardlySlyly – cunninglySpirituality – to do with religion or the spirit

Tenets – central principles

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The next day dawned bright and clear. The children were upearly and after brushing their teeth came out of their room.They found Maa and Nanaji sitting in the garden and doingyoga and prananyam.

“Jai Jinendra Maa, Jai Jinendra Nanaji” they said in unison.

Their grandparents hugged and kissed them.

“Maa, mom and dad also do pranayam everyday. Do allJains do it?” Vidyamaan asked.

Maa smiled and said, “Not just Jains, many people all overthe world do yoga and pranayam everyday. It helps us tokeep fit and healthy both physically and mentally.”

“Did our Tirthankars also do Yoga and prananyam?”Vidyamaan asked.

Maa laughed.

“Yes, our Tirthankars did advanced yoga and pranayamwhen they carried out severe tapasya for many years. Theywould sit or stand in dhyan and meditate. At times theywould remain in the same position for years.”

“Now sit down and do some Pranayam.” Nanaji made themsit down and taught them Kapalbhati, Anulom Vilom andBhastrika. The children enjoyed doing these exercises.

“Nanaji, I’m feeling very light as if there is a lot of air insideme.” Urja said in wonder.

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“Beta, if you do these exercises regularly you will feel betterphysically plus you will be able to concentrate better.C’mon, its time to go now.”

They trooped inside the house. “Go and take a bath andthen we will go to the mandir. Today we all will do puja”Maa told them.

They went to the mandir and now because Urja andVidyamaan understood the meaning behind each action,they did everything with deep feeling.

After darshan they sat down with Maa and Nanaji on thechatai on the floor. Maa took out samagri and made a designon the table in front of her with it.

“What are you making?”

“This is a Swastika. The Swastika is a sacred symbol inJainism. The four sides of Swastika symbolize the four formsof existence of all souls. All worldly souls continuously passthrough a never ending cycle of birth, suffering and death.Depending on their karmas, they take on either of fourforms which are:

Dev gati or heavenly beingsManushya gati or human beingsTiryanch gati or animals, birds and plantsNarak gati or beings in hell.

The three dots that I have made above it represent the threejewels of our religion which are:

Samyak Darshan or Right FaithSamyak Gyäna or Right KnowledgeSamyak Chäritra or Right Conduct.

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We should follow these three principles if we want toachieve moksh.”

“What does moksh mean?” Urja asked.

“Moksh means salvation or liberation from pain andsuffering. All our Tirthankars attained moksh. The ultimateaim of every living being is moksh. The crescent of themoon that I have drawn represents the region known asMoksha. This region is the permanent place where theliberated souls reside.

Maa and Nanaji began reciting verses from the Jinvaani.

Some of them sounded familiar to Urja an Vidyamaanbecause they had heard their mother reciting them. Everytime Maa and Nanaji recited the argh they would say‘Swaha’ which was echoed with great diligence by Urja andVidyamaan and they would place the samagri on the table.

After the puja finished and they were leaving the templethey saw a muni coming towards them. They all boweddown. The muni raised his hand and blessed them andcarried on walking. “Maa, why don’t out Muni’s wearclothes?” Vidyamaan asked.

“Beta, they have renounced all material things in this worldand because clothes are also material possessions they giveup clothes as well.” Maa replied.

“At school when we were reading about Jain monks, myfriends made fun of me because our monks don’t wearclothes” Urja recounted.

“How dare they laugh at you! You just wait! When I reachschool, I’ll beat them up” Vidyamaan said angrily.

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“No, beta, everyone has the right to express his or heropinion. Next time when someone makes fun of any Muni,just tell them to look at the Muni’s face. Although they eatjust once a day and lead an austere life and their faces glowand shine. It is the glow of santosh and inner peace.

True Munis don’t have any needs and so they liveaccordingly. Have you heard the story of the king whowanted to give gold coins to monks?”

Urja and Vidyamaan shook their heads.

“Once upon a time, there was a king called Harshavardhan.One day, he had a dream in which a celestial beingappeared and asked him to honour Jain monks. He calledone of his ministers and gave him a bag of gold coins andtold him to give the coins to all the Jain monks in thekingdom.

The minister searched for monks all day, but he could notfind a single monk to give the coins to. He came back tocourt in the evening and returned the bag of coins back tothe king.

The minister told the king that he could not find any Jainmonk to whom he could give the coins.

The king became very angry and said, “What nonsense!You could not find a single monk, in such a big city.”

The minister replied that true Jain monks did not accept thegold coins. The others who wanted the coins, were not truemonks, because true monks do not take money. They havegiven up all the concerns about their future needs and do notneed any money. The minister added that the king hadasked him to honour true monks and not people who wore

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the clothes of monks but did not observe the religiousprinciples. So, he returned without giving any coins.

The minister’s explanation calmed the king and made himthink. Harshvardhan realized that his minister was right, andthat he should think of a different way of honouring monks.He began attending their discourses and listened to theirsermons and followed their teachings in his life. He thus,fulfilled the directions of the dev in his dream in the truesense” Maa said.

“I hope now you will be able to explain to all your friendsabout our munis so that they don’t make fun of themanymore” Maa added.

“Maa, do the munis eat only once a day?” Urja asked.

“Yes, beta, they eat only once a day and that too whilestanding and they don’t use any utensils to eat. They takethe food which is offered to them in their cupped palms andeat it.” Maa told them.

“But supposing they want to eat pizza and no one offers it tothem then how will they eat it?” Vidyamaan questioned.

Maa and Nanaji laughed in amusement.

“Beta, our Munis don’t eat such food. They eat only selectedfood items and don’t eat vegetables such as onion, potato,carrot etc. which grow underground” Nanaji said.

“But that’s so tough! How can they not eat burger, pizza andaaloo ka parantha?” Vidyamaan was flabbergasted.

Maa smiled. “Tell me something. Supposing a friend ofyours who loves eating non-vegetarian food asks you to eatit saying it is very tasty. Will you eat non-vegetarian food?”

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“No, Maa never!” Urja and Vidyamaan both answered inunison.

“Why?”

“How can we kill a living being for our food?” Urja said.

“Similarly our Munis believe that uprooting and cuttingthese vegetables results in the death of hundreds of tinymicroorganisms and so they don’t eat them.” Maaanswered.

“But Maa, mom says we will become weak if we don’t eatgreen vegetables. So, even the Munis must be weak”Vidyamaan asked.

“No, beta, our Munis are not weak. They are very strongand have immense will power. They can bear the greatest ofpain and suffering without complaining and with calmness.

“Have you heard the name of Muni Metarya?” Nanaji askedthe children.

They both shook their heads.

“Muni Metarya was a young Muni who with great reluctancehad joined Lord Mahavir’s holy order. Although he haddonned the Muni’s white robe, he was not mentallyprepared for it. A deep lust for life pulled him back. Helonged for physical comforts and was unable to free himselffrom attachment.

But gradually, he observed that his fellow Munis weretotally immersed in studies, meditation, penance, andphilosophical discussions and moved from village to villagefor food.

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Seeing their state of total detachment he too felt a changeovercoming him. He controlled his desires and limited hisrequirements. Many years passed and he spent his timemastering the scriptures and practising severe penances.The extreme penances and vows that he observed made hisbody lean and emaciated. But his declining physical powersled to an increase in his spiritual powers and he becamefirmly rooted in Ahimsa and became totally detached.

One day Metarya arrived at the town of Rajgruhi where heundertook a fast for thirty long days. After thirty days, hewent out to seek food and break this fast. He reached agoldsmith’s house. The goldsmith was a master craftsman

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and crafted beautiful pieces of jewellery. That day he wassitting outside his house in the verandah, working on a goldnecklace for the king. He was making the necklace out oftiny golden beads which were the size and shape of ripewheat grains. The goldsmith’s skill and expertise made thebeads look like real wheat grains.

When Muni Metarya came toward his house, the goldsmithgot up and greeted him and welcomed him for alms. Hethen went inside his house to fetch food for the Muni.

Meanwhile, a bird perched on a nearby tree, had beenobserving the beads and mistaking them for real grainsswooped down and gulped and swallowed all the beads andimmediately flew back to its perch on the tree. MuniMetarya witnessed the entire incident but didn’t sayanything.

The goldsmith came back and gave the food to the Muni.Suddenly, he noticed that the beads were no longer there.Worried and anxious, he looked everywhere but couldn’tfind them. The beads belonged to the king and were veryprecious. If he failed to deliver it to the king he would beseverely punished. Suddenly his gaze fell on Muni Metarya.He asked the Muni if he had taken the necklace.

The Muni replied, “No, I haven’t taken it.”

Then the goldsmith asked, “Who has taken it?”

But the Muni didn’t reply because he knew that if thegoldsmith came to know that the bird had swallowed thebeads he would kill the bird and take out his beads. TheMuni’s vow of Ahimsa kept him silent.

The Muni’s silence increased the goldsmith’s suspicions andhe angrily denounced the Muni. Still the Muni remained

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silent. This enraged the goldsmith further and he angrilyabused the Muni. But this too had no effect on the Muni.The goldsmith became blind with anger and lost his selfcontrol.

He wanted to force the Muni into telling the truth so he tieda piece of raw hide around the Muni’s forehead and pushedhim in the sun. But the goldsmith did not realize that MuniMetarya was a real monk who was willing to give up his life,to save the life of a bird.

As the hide became dry, it contracted and squeezed hisforehead. The Muni felt suffocated and faint but he remainedfirm and calm. He was in full control of his mind and did notallow his physical pain to overcome his mind and spirit. Hebore the pain stoically and maintained his equanimity bythinking, “Why should I worry about this body which isperishable and bound to die one day?”

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He didn’t harbor any ill-feeling towards thegoldsmith and forgavehim. He attained keval-gyan. But his bodywhich had alreadybeen weakened by thethirty days of fast couldbear no more and hefell down on the ground.

As the Muni fell down,the sound of the crashstartled the bird from itsperch on the tree and it vomited the beads. The goldsmithsaw the bird vomiting the beads on the ground and he finallyrealized the truth. Penitent and remorseful he rushed to theMuni and fell at his feet. But it was too late. The Muni wasno more. The goldsmith was filled with guilt. He wished hehad controlled his anger. He realized that deep passions anduncontrolled anger can lead to drastic consequences. Hebecame disgusted with himself and was full of self loathing.He decided to renounce the world and gave up his house,money and family and joined Lord Mahavir’s holy orderwhere he spent the rest of his life.” Nanaji concluded thestory.

“But Nanaji, the goldsmith should have been punished forkilling Muni Metarya!” Vidyamaan said vehemently.

“Beta, tears of heartfelt repentance can wash away even thecruelest of deeds. The blackest of sinners who takes a dip inthe river of repentance comes out shining like an angel.

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The goldsmith heartfelt repentance enabled him to achieveliberation like Muni Metarya” Nanaji said.

Word MeaningWord MeaningAbused – ill-treatedDenounced – condemnedDhyan – intense concentrationDrastic – extremeEnraged – angeredFlabbergasted – shockedGulped – guzzleLoathing – dislikePerishable – fragilePranayam – Yogic breathing exercisesSevere – strictStoically – endure pain without complainingSuffocated – chokedSwooped – jumped downTapasya – to carry out severe penances

Witnessed – saw

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“Nanaji, the life of a muni is very tough. Why do theyobserve such severe penances and follow such strict rules?”Vidyamaan asked.

“Beta, the life of a Muni is tough but they are free from allcravings and they lead a contented life. They possess greatspiritual power and acquire immense knowledge whichenables them at times to foresee the future as well as knowabout past lives. I’ll tell you the story of Maheshvardattwhose life changed after an encounter with an enlightenedMuni.

Once upon a time in city of Vijaypur there was a richmerchant named Maheshvardatt. He lived in a beautiful,huge mansion with his wife and parents. Maheshvardattand his parents lived a lavish and extravagant life. Theyspent all their time in the pursuit of pleasure and comfortand despite being Jains, ate non-vegetarian food and drankliquor.

However, Maheshvardatt’s wife Achla was very pious andreligious. She followed the tenets of Jainism and visited Jainmunis and listened to their discourses and observed variousvows. Achla gave birth to a handsome and charming boy.Maheshvardatt especially dotted on him and couldn’t bearto be parted from his son even for a day.

One day, Maheshvardatt’s father fell ill. He received the bestmedical treatment but his condition did not improve.Despite knowing that death was near, he remained pre-occupied with material considerations and worried, “What

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will happen to my wife, my son, my property and my herdof cattle?”

Maheshvardatt saw his father worried and uneasy andasked, “Father, why are you worried? Let me know whatyou desire and I shall fulfill it. Please don’t worry at all.”

The father replied, “Son, you are wise and diligent, and Iknow you will look after our money and property well. Takegood care of our herd of buffaloes. And on every Shraddhasacrifice a young buffalo. Don’t forget.” With these wordsthe father died.

A few months later, Maheshvardatt’s mother also diedcrying, “My house, my family, my money, my property!”

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A year passed and the day of Shraddha came andMaheshvardatt remembered his promise to his father. Hesearched for a young buffalo in the market but was unable tofind a good one in the price quoted. Hence, he decided tosacrifice a young buffalo in his herd. Although, Achla triedhard to convince him that it was cruel to kill it was all in vain.The morning of the Shraddha, the buffalo was sacrificed andits meat cooked and made ready to be served to relatives.

Maheshvardatt stood waiting for his relatives, at the door ofhis mansion. He was holding his son in his arms andcaressing him. Just then a female dog entered and startedsniffing around for food. Maheshvardatt became very angryand he threw a wooden stick at the dog. The stick hit thedog’s ankle and it broke and she ran away limping andhowling.

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While all this was happening, a renowned Jain Muni whopossessed avadhigyan, was passing by and he gave amysterious smile. Maheshvardatt became curious about theMuni’s smile and he approached the Muni with folded handsand asked, “Maharaj, why did you smile just now?”

The Muni replied, “It would be better if you do not know.”

But Maheshvardatt insisted on knowing.

The Muni said, “Well, if you insist, I have no objection intelling you.”

The Muni said, “As you may know, many a times, aperson’s next life is determined by the cravings and desireshe or she has during the last moments of life. Today, you areperforming Shraddha of your father and for that you havesacrificed a young buffalo. That buffalo was your own fatherin previous life. At the time of his death your father wasanxious about his herd of cattle and so after his death hewas reborn as a male-buffalo in his own herd.”

Maheshvardatt was shocked and pained to hear this. Hesaid “Lord, is it true? What have I done?”

The Muni replied, “This is true, but the matter does not endhere.”

“The dog whose ankle you just broke, was your mother inprevious life. At the time of her death she too was beset bythoughts of her house, her children and her family.

Because of these thoughts she was reborn as a dog in yourstreet and loitered around your house.”

Maheshvardatt put his head in his hands numb with sorrow.

The Muni continued, “I have more to tell you. You had abusiness rival whom you hated and who died in an accident.

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That hated enemy ofyours has been rebornas your son whom youlove so much.”

Hearing these wordsMaheshvardatt feltashamed and disgustedwith himself and thisworld. He fell at the feetof the Muni and pleaded,“Maharaj, enlighten me!Help me rise above thisillusionary world. Showme the way out so that Imay lead a worthy life.”

The Muni raised his hand and blessed him. “The desire forspiritual enlightenment is the first step on the path of eternalhappiness.”

From that day onwards, Maheshvardatt and Achla led theirlives, following the path shown by the Muni and when thetime came, renounced their worldly life and achievedsalvation.” Maa concluded the story just as they reachedhome.

The children had their breakfast and then after thecustomary fight over who would get the remote first satdown to watch television. They were allowed to watchtelevision for one hour each every day. After finishing herchores, Maa also came and sat with them. Suddenly anadvertisement exhorting everyone to eat an egg every dayrolled up. “Sunday ho ya Monday , Roz khao ande” it said.

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Vidyamaan spoke, “Maa, why do people eat eggs and nonvegetarian food? Don’t they know it is wrong to kill?”

Maa gently caressed Vidyamaan’s head. “Beta, there aremillions of human beings in the world. And each one isunique. Each one has different beliefs, thoughts and ideas.We believe it is wrong to kill other living beings for food butthere are others who believe that animals have been createdespecially for humans. And there are still some others whokill just because they enjoy the taste of meat.”

“But it is wrong and evil!” Urja said.

“Tell me something. Isn’t it wrong to steal and tell lies?”

“Of course it is, Maa!” Urja said

“Still people steal and tell lies even though they know thatthey will be punished if they are caught. There is a famoussaying, ‘We should hate the sin not the sinner.’ There are allkinds of people in the world and one should learn to tolerateeveryone with kindness. Instead of bothering about others’actions we should be concerned about our behavior. One’sKarmas or actions are one’s own and cannot be affected byanother person. We are responsible for what we do so weshould always behave well. If we do bad karmas we willaccumulate paap karmas and reap bad rewards just like themerchant Sagarpot.” Maa said.

“Maa, please tell us about Sagarpot” the childrenbeseeched.

“I think you know the story of Kulputra, don’t you? Bhaiyahad told you the story during your dharma class. Kulaputrahad faithfully followed the vow of Ahimsa and because of hisgood karmas had been reborn as a rich merchant’s son. The

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merchant, Manihar had named his son Damanak. WhenDamanak was eight years old, an epidemic broke out in thecity, and wiped out his entire family. Damanak was the solesurvivor. There was no one left to look after Damanak. Hefell victim to dishonest neighbours who appropriated hiswealth and house and he became a poor orphan boy forcedto roam about here and there. One day, a merchant namedSagarpot saw him and taking pity on him, gave him shelterin his house.

Some months later, a monk came to Sagarpot’s house foralms. The monk saw Damanak and prophesied that hisgood karmas were going to mature shortly, and soon hewould be the head of the household.

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Sagarpot was taken aback by the monk’s utterances butkept silent. He was disturbed by the thought of his fortunebeing inherited by Damanak because he wanted his own sonto be the head of the household, not some poor boy whomhe had picked up out of pity. Therefore, he decided to killDamanak.

He sent for the butcher, and secretly ordered him to takeDamanak into the forest and kill him.

The butcher took the boy to the forest and was about to killhim when the look of innocence on the boy’s face made himpause in the act of killing him. He changed his mind aboutkilling Damanak and decided to ignore Sagarpot’s instructions.

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But to convince Sagarpot that he had killed the boy he cutDamanak’s little finger off and set him free in the forest. Hetold the boy to leave and never return to that area again.

Left alone, Damanak started wandering in the forest wherehe was spotted by a cow herder who had come to the forestto graze his cows. The cow herder asked him about himselfand Damanak told him his story. The cow herder was filledwith compassion for him and took Damanak to live with himand his wife.

Several years passed and Damanak grew up to be a fine,young and strong man. He was extremely religious andpracticed ahimsa and lived simply. One day, Sagarpot whiletraveling on business, stopped at the village where Damanak

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was living. He saw the young man and liked him right away.When Sagarpot inquired more about him, he realized thatthis young man was the same boy whom he had tried to killyears ago. His anger returned and he immediately plannedto kill Damanak. He asked the cow herder if he would sparethe young man to take his message back to his home. Thecow herder agreed and Sagarpot gave Damanak a letter tobe delivered to his son. Damanak left to deliver the letter.

Damanak walked swiftly and reached the outskirts of theRajagruhi city. He decided to stretch his legs for a while andtake a nap. He saw a temple and lay down in the courtyardunder a shady tree. He kept his bundle and the letter he wascarrying, by his side and dozed off to sleep. It just sohappened, that after he fell asleep, Sagarpot’s daughter Bisacame to the temple. She was impressed by the handsomeyoung man who was sleeping and went closer shyly for acloser look. She noticed that there was letter next toDamanak. Overcome with curiosity she picked it up. Shefound to her surprise that it was addressed to her brother.Her curiosity now knew no bounds and she opened theletter and read it.

She was puzzled to find that her father was the sender of theletter and he had written in the letter, “Yah ladaka jaise hivahan aye, usko bis poison de dena. Translated it meant that“As soon as this boy arrives there, give him poison (Bis).”

Bisa was thoroughly shocked and could not understand whyher father had written such a command. She looked at theyoung man who looked innocent and gentle. She had fallenin love with him and wanted to marry him. So, she changedthe message, “Yah ladaka jaise hi vahan aye, usko bisa the

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girl de dena,” meaning, “As soon as this boy arrives there,give him Bisa (his daughter).” She then put the letter backwhere it was and left.

Damanak awoke from his sleep and delivered the letter toSagarpot’s son. His son read the message and was puzzledwhy his father would ask him to get his sister married toDamanak. But since that was his father’s wish, he obeyed it.Damanak was also confused, but he liked Bisa when he mether and so he agreed readily. Bisa’s brother carried out themarriage with great celebration and joy.

When Sagarpot came back home and found out what hadhappened he became murderous. But he did not express his

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intentions to anybody. He again hatched a plot to killDamanak, even though he was now his son-in-law.

He decided to hire someone to kill Damanak and asked himto keep a close watch on Damanak and kill him as soon ashe found the opportunity. One day, Sagarpot, his wife, theirdaughter and Damanak went to a marriage in theneighbouring village. Sagarpot’s son didn’t accompanythem since he was away on business and was supposed toreturn after three days. Sagarpot decided he would sendDamanak back on the pretext of work and informed the hitman about his plan. As planned after some time, Sagarpotsent Damanak back to the village to run an errand.Damanak reached his village but since he was feeling tireddecided to go home and rest first. On reaching home, hefound the house locked. So he rested on the sofa on theporch. The hit man followed him, but he felt that Damanakwas a strong man and it would not be easy to kill him withbare hands. So he went to fetch a sword.

Damanak rested for a while but then he remembered theerrand he had to carry out for Sagarpot. So, he got up andleft for his work. Meanwhile, Sagarpot’s son who had beenout of town on business and was supposed to return afterthree days, finished his work a day early and came back. Hecame to the house but found the house locked and decidedto rest on the charpoy on the porch. He soon fell asleep.The hit man came back, and hastily without confirmingwhether it was Damanak or somebody else cut off thesleeping man’s head. When he saw the severed head the hitman realized he had actually killed Sagarpot’s son and ranaway terrified.

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After some time when Sagarpot and the rest of the familycame home, they found the body in blood. Sagarpot wasstruck dumb with grief when he learnt that it was his sonwho had been killed. His wife and daughter lamented withsorrow and Sagarpot realized that he had been punished forhis crime.

Sagarpot now realized that he had been trying to change thedestiny of the young man and that one’s fate or karmascannot be changed by someone else. A person’s actionsdetermine his or her fate and not the fate of someone else.That is why despite all his attempts he failed to changeDamanak’s fate and instead all his attempts rebounded onhim and increased his suffering. He handed over the reins ofthe household and business to Damanak.

Damanak became wealthy as predicted but continued to livesimply and viewed all living beings with compassion. He

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carried out his duties for many years and lived happily everafter.”

“Maa, what happened to Sagarpot?” Vidyamaan asked.

“Beta, he renounced everything and retired to a Jainashram in the forest and carried out the rest of his life doingpenance for his wrong actions.” Maa said.

“He must have spent the rest of his life being unhappy andsad because his son died because of him” Urja said withfeeling.

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“Yes, initially he was filled with sorrow but he learnt theimportant lesson that ‘Raag’ and ‘Dvesh’ are the root causeof all our suffering.”

“What are ‘Raag’ and ‘Dvesh’?” Urja asked.

‘Raag’ means attachment and ‘Dvesh’ means aversion ordislike. Sagarpot was deeply attached to his son and to hisproperty. He developed ‘Dvesh’ or dislike for Damanakbecause he loved his son and didn’t want Damanak toinherit his property. So, these feelings governed the way heacted. And when he renounced he gained knowledge that tobe detached is the correct way to live. So, he lived the rest ofhis life in complete detachment not letting passions swayhim.” Maa explained.

“What exactly is detachment?” Urja asked.

“Detachment means to have no attachment to anyone oranything in this world. This is the way our Tirthankars livedand they are also called ‘Veetraagi’ which means someonewho is devoid of all attachments.” Maa explained.

“But Maa I am very attached to mom and dad. How can thatbe wrong?” Vidyamaan was confused.

“Beta, it is not wrong as such but it becomes wrong if likeSagarpot you let your attachment lead you into wrongbehavior. For example, if someone says something badabout your mother what will your reaction be?”

“Maa, I’ll beat them up!” Vidyamaan said angrily.

“And you Urja? What will you do?” Maa asked softly.

“I may not beat them but I’ll feel very bad and depressed”Urja said slowly.

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“Isn’t that what Sagarpot did? First he felt sad that his sonwouldn’t inherit his property and then he became angry andtried to kill Damanak. So, you see we should alwaysmaintain a balance in our thoughts and our behaviour. Weshould control our passions so that our emotions don’t leadus astray. Now I’ll tell you a story about a young princessMairavati who maintained her inner balance even in the faceof adversity” Maa paused for a moment.

Word Meaning

Word Meaning

Acquire – obtainAppropriated – take for one’s useCraving – longingDestiny – fateEncounter – meetEpidemic – A communicative disease like plagueErrand – taskExtravagant – excessiveHowling – cryingLamented – cried in griefLavish – abundantPenance – self-punishmentProphesied – predictedPursuit – followShraddha – yearly ritual performed for the dead

Utterances – sayings

❑❑❑

Once upon a time, Ripumardan was the king ofKsitipratisthita and Vasundhara was his first queen. She wasa devoted Shravika and followed the tenets of Jainismreligiously. She gave birth to a daughter who was namedMairavati. Mairavati was her mother’s daughter, a mixture ofbeauty, conduct, and intellect. The king made properarrangements for her education, and very soon she becameproficient in all the branches of learning. Her mother was incharge of her spiritual education.

One day, when the court was in session, Mairavati was sentthere by her mother. She was dressed in the finest of robesand ornaments. Theprincess bowed beforeher father the king, whoaffectionately receivedher and made her sit onthe throne with him.The king was a goodruler but he was alsohaughty and proud.Addressing the courtiers,he said, “Do you thinkthere is another monarchon this earth who is asrich and powerful as Iam?”

The courtiers vied witheach other to flatter theking.

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“Your Majesty, no monarch on this earth is as wealthy,powerful and strong as you are!” one said.

Another courtier went further and said, “No monarch evenin his dreams can hope to be as worthy and illustrious as youare, your majesty.”

The princess however, didn’t agree with these utterances.She signified her dissent by shaking her head. The king sawhis daughter’s disapproving shake and boomed loudly,“Don’t you agree my daughter?”

Mairavati bowed her head and said, “Sire, whatever thecourtiers have stated is mere flattery and a total violation oftruth. On this earth, there are many monarchs who are inpossession of equivalent treasure, court, and kinsmen. Arethese really things to be proud of?”

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This observation did not go down well with the king.

He asked the courtiers again, “By whose kindness are youhappy?”

“Your Majesty ! Can there be any question about it? We allare happy because of your kindness” one courtieranswered.

“Your majesty you are like the Kalpa-vriksh (wish fulfillingtree) showering happiness on us” another one saidflatteringly.

“What do you have to say now, my daughter?” the kingasked Mairavati.

The princess said, “Father, the courtiers are indulging innothing but flattery. A person’s happiness is the outcome ofhis or her karmas. If you are the one who bestows happinessthen why don’t you make everyone equally happy? Some ofyour courtiers are more happy and others are less happy.This is the outcome of their respective karmas. You are onlyan instrument of its operation.”

The king became furious at his daughter’s insubordination.He said, “How dare you call me a mere instrument. Theclothes that you wear and the food that you eat are a resultof my largesse. The moment I want I can withdraw theseriches. You dare challenge me?”

Mairavati remained unperturbed. “Sire, my birth in yourroyal household and the affluence I enjoy are the outcome ofinexorable karmas.”

The king’s rage reached the highest pitch. He burst out,“Foolish girl! Who has taught you all this nonsense? You arean enemy in the garb of my daughter. Don’t you know that

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it is my favorable glance that can make a poor man rich andit is my angry glance that can ruin one forever. If you acceptthis truth well and good otherwise I will dispose you off tosome poor man.”

“Father, you are mistaken. If righteous karmas do not favorme, even the best of grooms chosen by you will turn pauper.But if I have favorable karmas, even a commoner may rise tothe acme of prosperity and acquire a kingdom. It is yourpride which is hindering your acceptance of this truth andpride is a deadly virus. So, Sire, get rid of it.” She folded herhands.

The king could no longer contain his rage. He issued thefollowing order to his men, “Go and immediately bring fortha man who is the poorest, the meanest, the lowliest, and inwretched health.”

The princess kept sitting calmly. The king’s men went outsearching and found a wretchedly ill man lying in the townsquare. They brought him before the king. His ears wererotten, nose dull and flat, lips long and projected, andcheeks marked by depression. His body was all bones andno flesh with distinct marks of leprosy. The king’s pride wasnow gratified.

He turned to the princess and said, “Well, my dear, indeference to your karmas, this man has been brought here.It is my order that you marry him.”

But Mairavati was a strict believer in the teachings of Jainismand she didn’t waver in her beliefs. She slowly came downand courted the leper as her husband. The whole court wasstunned and perturbed but the king did not relent. His pride

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and vengeance were gratified. The princess was thendeprived of her jewelry and rich robes and dressed in simplegarments was turned out from the city.

The leper and the princess walked barefoot and decided tospend the night in a temple. The leper was a gentle andcompassionate man.

Addressing the princess, he said, “Noble lady! What theking has done is unjust and wrong. You are bearing theconsequences of his malicious pride. You are a lovely damselof noble birth and I am only a poor leper. I am not fit for you.So, I regret my inability to accept you and gladly permit youto give me up. Forget about me and marry some suitable

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young man. I have no doubt that wherever you go you willbe an asset.”

The princess appealed, “My dear husband, what are yousaying? I am a devout Jain and it would be sinful of me togive you up once I have accepted you as my husband.Youth, beauty, wealth are transient and come and go, butpurity is a rare acquisition. You may be rich or poor, ill or fitbut you are my all in all. In future, please do not say whatyou have said just now.”

The leper was happy at this unusual reply but didn’t react.Soon he was asleep. The princess was unable to sleep andsat down outside on a stone bench. Suddenly she saw an oldlady coming toward her. A young man accompanied the oldwoman. The lady came to the princess and said, “Mydaughter ! I am the deity of this city. I am deeply pained byyour father’s behavior and I have come to help you.”

She pointed towards the young man and said, “Thishandsome and wealthy young man is meant for you. Give

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up this leper and become his wife. You will be happy withhim. I will help you.”

Mairavati remained steadfast. She said, “Mother! I haven’tenough words to thank you for your concern. But I am dulymarried with this man with the consent of my father. Icannot think of giving him up? He may be a leper, but to mehe is the king of kings and I cannot forsake him. I only begand entreat that this man whom you have brought with youmay be withdrawn and restored to his proper place.”

The deity took this refusal as an affront. She became furiousand said threateningly, “If you take my advice you will behappy otherwise, I shall kill you.” Saying so she advancedtowards Mairavati with her hand raised.

The princess remained firm and closing her eyes beganuttering the holy Namokar Mantra. And then a miraclehappened. Everyone vanished. There was neither the deitynor the young man nor the leper. Instead, a divine personstood before her.

He said to the princess, “I am Manichud, a dev and the kingof Manipur on the Vaitadhya hill. Once I heard LordMahavir’s teaching that “One should destroy the sense ofself-importance which eats like a canker the bud of one’spure aspirations.” I wanted to experience the truth of thisand changed myself into a leper. Just then, the king’s menpicked me up. The rest you know. You didn’t deviate fromyour resolve. You are truly praiseworthy and honorable.How lucky I am and how lucky is my city to have in you awife and a queen, acquired so unexpectedly.”

At first the princess didn’t know if it was a dream or reality.But she acknowledged this turn in her luck to be theoutcome of karmas.

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Then Manichud said to his wife, “My dear, I want to teachyour father a lesson in humility so that he crushes his prideforever.”

By dint of his divine power, Manichud raised a mighty armyand laid siege to the city of his father-in-law. Then he sent amessenger to King Ripumardan telling him to dress like apeasant and submit to him, failing which his city would beattacked.

The king became affronted and was about to accept thechallenge but his ministers and courtiers prevailed upon him

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saying, “Your Majesty! One should act with due cautionwhen the adversary is your equal and in the present case,the adversary is far superior. Therefore, in the interests ofthe kingdom you should act as the messenger desires.”

The king saw the mighty army surrounding his city and hispride suffered a severe blow. Dressed as a peasant, he wentto meet king Manichud.

Manichud received him and immediately asked an attendantfor a change of dress. The king’s eyes fell on his daughter,who was seated on the throne. The king bent his head inshame.

Mairavati said, “Father, don’t be remorseful. The leper towhom you gave me away turned out to be a dev. I hope now

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you will believe that all happiness and sadness is the play ofone’s karmas.

The king’s false pride was crushed. He was happy to see thisturn in his daughter’s fortune. He vowed never to be vainand proud.

Manichud said to the king, “Sire, blessed are you that inyour royal household has been born such a precious soul asyour daughter. And equally blessed am I that such a pioussoul is now in my life.”

After this, the Dev returned to his city on the Vaitadhya hillin the company of his wife. Always steadfast in purity,Mairavati spent the rest of her life devoted to spiritualpractices.” Maa concluded the story.

“Now you both watch television and after some time we willhave lunch.” Maa left them. After a hearty lunch the childrenhad their afternoon nap. When they got up they went out toplay and returned for their evening meal. They wentexcitedly for their dharma class.

“Jai Jinendra Bhaiya” the children greeted Amit when heentered.

“Jai Jinendra bacchho” he answered.

After everyone had recited the Namokar mantra Amitaddressed the class.

“I want to know something. Radhika, you tell me first.When you pray in the temple what do you say?”

“Bhaiya, I recite the Namokar mantra nine times and then Iask Lord Mahavir to bless me” Radhika answered.

“And Charu what do you say?”

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“Bhaiya, I also recite the Namokar Mantra and then I askLord Parshvanath to protect me and take care of me” Charuanswered.

“Vidyamaan, what about you?”

“Bhaiya, I ask Lord Mahavir to make me a good boy”Vidyamaan said promptly.

“Not always! Bhaiya, once he had prayed for a brand newtoy truck!” Urja butted in.

“No I hadn’t!” Vidyamaan immediately rebutted.

But then he remembered his vow of always telling the truthand admitted “Actually bhaiya, once I had prayed for a toytruck.”

“How do you know this Urja?”

“Because Bhaiya, he had written a note to Lord Mahavirasking him to help him get a truck and had put it in the daanpeti in the mandir. His note was recovered the next day andsince he had signed it with his name we were told about it.”Urja recounted smilingly.

Everyone began laughing and Vidyamaan blushed.

“But after that I have never asked God for anything becausedad told us that we should never ask God for anything”Vidyamaan added.

“Your father is absolutely right. Our Tirthankars haveattained moksh and have left this world forever so theycannot hear our requests or grant them. Our Tirthankarshave been ordinary human beings like us and they have saidthat each one of us has the potential to become like themand attain salvation.

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The basic difference between Jainism and other religions isthat in our religion we are not supposed to ask ourTirthankars for anything. When we stand before them weshould aspire to become like them and try to imbibe thequalities that they stand for” Amit enunciated.

“Bhaiya, how can we become like our Tirthankars?”Aanchal asked.

“Our Tirthankars have set down three principles which arealso known as the three jewels of our religion. By followingthem we too can become like our Tirthankars” Amit said.

“I know what they are Bhaiya! Maa told us this morningabout them” Urja said excitedly.

“Jiji wait, I will tell Bhaiya. I know them. Bhaiya they areSamyak Darshan and Samyak Gyan and Samyak…Samyak…. ummm I’ve forgotten” Vidyamaan saiddejectedly.

“Samyak Charitra” Urja completed.

“Excellent, children! You both are exemplary students. Toattain moksh, we should follow the right faith, have the rightknowledge and indulge in right conduct. Now enough oflectures, I’ll tell you a story about Jindatt who followed theJina path. In the city of Pottanpur, there lived a wealthymerchant named Jindatt and his wife Purna. Jinadatt was agreat believer in doing charity and used to donate moneyand articles to the needy regularly.

One day, an Acharya came to the city. Jindatt along with hisfellow citizens came to listen to him and they all took a vowto fast every alternate day and to recite the Namokar Mantraone hundred and eight times daily.

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Fortune and wealth are most fickle and come and goaccording to their whims and fancies. Misfortune struckJindatt too and due to a sudden turn of events he sufferedhuge business losses and became so poor that he hadtrouble in making both ends meet.

One day Purna suggested that Jinadatt should go to herparents and borrow some money from her father and startbusiness afresh. Jindatt was hesitant about accepting suchhelp and refused at first. But Purna was very insistent andbegged and pleaded so much that with great reluctance heagreed to go. Purna gave him a packet of fried chickpeapowder for his meal on the way.

Jindatt continued to observe his vows and kept fast everyalternate day. The day he set out was a day of fasting so hedidn’t eat anything. On the second day, around noon, he satdown on the banks of a lake and washed himself. Then he

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diluted some chickpea powder in a cup of water and satdown to eat.

But before taking a bite a thought entered his mind. Hethought “At home, I always take my meal only after firstgiving a portion of it to some pious Muni. But what do I donow? From where will I get a Muni here?”

The power of his charitable thoughts and his shudh bhavwas such that a Muni appeared on the horizon and begancoming in his direction. The Muni was very lean andemaciated because he had been fasting for a month whichhad ended on that day. As was the custom, now the Munihad come to seek food. Jindatt bowed before him andhumbly prayed that the Muni may partake a portion of hismeal. The Muni accepted Jindatt’s prayer and ate hisoffering.

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On the fourth day, Jindatt reached his father-in-law’s house.He was received with great honour and after a hearty meal,he apprised his father-in-law of the purpose of this unusualvisit. But it is a sad irony of life that prosperity wins manyfriends and adversity leaves us with very few real friends.The father-in-law held a family meeting and all the membersrefused to extend any financial help.

Jindatt was extremely disappointed by their negativereaction but bore the disappointment calmly and withoutsaying anything turned his steps homeward. As he nearedhis home, he began feeling worried about his wife’sreaction. He was sure that when she heard of her father’srefusal she would feel mortified and ashamed. So, to lessenher immediate shock and disappointment he filled a bagwith pebbles from the banks of the river and placing the bagon his head, returned home.

Purna was waiting eagerly for her husband and greeted himwith smiling anticipation. Jindatt handed over the bag to herand went inside to freshen up and get ready.

Purna opened the bag and almost fainted with surprisewhen she saw that it was full of precious stones and gems.She thought, “How generous and considerate my father hasbeen. He must have taken pity on our present situation andgiven all these.”

Then she kept the stones in a safe and took out one preciousstone and went to a grocer’s shop to mortgage it and bringsome provisions. She cooked various delicacies and servedthem on the table.

Jindatt was taken aback to see such a feast being served.

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Gently he said, “My dear! We are already in heavy debt.Why did you borrow again to prepare so many delicacies forme?”

Purna smiled and said, “Oh no, I didn’t borrow anything.My father has given you so many precious stones and gemsand I have sold only one of them to get the necessaryprovisions. The rest I have stored in safe keeping.”

Jindatt was taken aback on hearing this because he knewhis father-in-law had given him nothing. So, he rushed to thebedroom, and to his pleasant surprise saw that the pebbleshe had collected and brought home had all turned intoprecious stones.

He turned to his wife and said, “My dear, the gems you seehaven’t come from your father’s home. Your father andbrothers refused to extend any help and I came away emptyhanded. But a gift of chickpea powder to a Muni has turnedpebbles into precious stones.”

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Jindatt and Purna bowed their heads in silent gratitude tothe Muni and thanked him from the bottom of their hearts.They then sold the stones in the market for a fortune andthis enabled Jindatt to start business afresh. They becamewealthy once again.”

“Bhaiya, can charity have such a miraculous effect?” Omasked.

“Yes, my dear Om, there is great power in charity andselfless gifts. We all should make charity a part of our dailylife. Misers who hoard money suffer a sad fate likeDhanasar. Do you want to hear about him?” The childrennodded eagerly. Amit smiled and said, ‘Alright, I’ll tell youabout him’.

Word MeaningWord MeaningAcquisition – possessionAdversary – enemy

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Affront – insultAspirations – ambitionCanker – evil, cancerDaan peti – charity box in templesDeity – god or goddessDejectedly – sadlyDeprived – without basic needs satisfiedDeviate – strayDissent – disagreeEmaciated – abnormally thin and weakEnunciated – pronounce clearlyExemplary – best of the kindFickle – changeableFlattery – false praiseForsake – abandonHindering – get in the wayInexorable – impossible to preventInsubordination – disobedienceLargesse – generosityMalicious – deliberately harmfulMiser – a person who hoards and spends littleMortgage – obtain a loan against some securityPauper – very poorPotential – capabilityProficient – well versedShudh bhav – pure feelingsTransient – temporaryVied – competed

Violation – break a rule, treat with disrespect

❑❑❑

Amit began his story, once upon a time many years ago,there lived a merchant named Dhanasar in Mathura. He wasvery rich and owned a vast fortune of 620 million goldcoins. Although he was wealthy he was extremely miserlyand hated giving as much as even a nickel. He used to hideall his wealth underground. He was renowned for hisstinginess and people often criticized him but he didn’t care.

One day, Dhanasar went to take stock of the treasure keptunderground but to his great shock, he found that all his goldhad changed into charcoal and snakes were crawlingthrough it. He couldn’t believe such a thing could happenand while he wasbrooding over thisloss, he receivedthe news of theloss of one of hiscargo ships in thesea. Before hecould recover athird shockingnews followedabout a robberyin which hisconvoy of preciousmerchandise hadbeen looted. Allthese setbacksmade him feelwretched and he bewailed his ill-luck.

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Dhanasar decided to try and recoup his losses and so heborrowed one million gold coins from a relative and wentabroad to do business. But when the unfavourable effect ofkarmas is prevailing, whatever a person does inevitablygoes against him or her. While returning from abroad withthe wealth he had earned, the ship he was coming back inencountered a sea storm and the ship sank. All his wealthwas lost and he barely managed to save himself by catchinga floating log and swimming ashore.

Dejected and depressed, he spent a day on the shore andthen proceeded towards the city. On the way he saw a parkwhere a Muni was sitting under the shade of a mango treeand delivering a sermon to the assembled people. Dhanasar

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also sat down to listen. The Muni was a very learned Muniwho had manah-paryay-gyan.

When the sermon was over, he came near the Muni, foldedhis hands in obeisance and said, “Maharaj ! You said thatour karmas are responsible for all our suffering and ourhappiness. Pray tell me by what karma did I acquire wealthand by which karma did I lose it all?”

The Muni said, “All these things have happened because ofyour previous life karmas. Would you like me to tell youabout them?”

Dhanasar nodded eagerly.

“In Dhatakikhand, there was a city named Ambika wheretwo brothers lived. The elder brother was extremelygenerous and always helped the needy, but the youngerbrother was miserly and did not like seeing his elder brother

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being so charitable. He would lose his temper and fight withhis elder brother.

This continued for some time, until finally they both decidedto separate and so they divided their property and wealthequally between themselves. The elder brother continuedwith his charitable ways and strangely his wealth instead ofdecreasing, in fact increased. The younger brother becamejealous of his brother’s growing prosperity and lodged afalse complaint with the king and induced him to takecustody of his brother’s property and wealth.

The elder brother was deeply wounded by his brother’sbehavior and he renounced the world. Soon he died but byvirtue of his good deeds, he became a Dev in heaven.

After his death the younger brother was severely criticizedand denounced by the people and he became an outcast insociety. So, he joined the order of some heretics and afterhis death was reborn as an Asurkumar in hell.

Having completed his life there, he has been reborn as you.In your previous life, you condemned charity and deprivedyour brother of his rightful wealth. You are still a miser andso you are deprived now. It is the effect of you karmas whichis making you suffer” the muni finished his account.

“Maharaj what about my brother?” Dhanasar askedtrembling with emotion.

“Your elder brother after spending his life in Saudharmalokwas born as a merchant in Tamralipti. He led a life of wealthand luxury and then gave it up to join the order of monks.He is the person now speaking to you” the muni revealed.

Dhanasar was amazed to hear this revealing account. He fellat the feet of his elder brother, the Muni and begged to be

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forgiven. He took a vow not to indulge in sinful acts anylonger and to donate three-fourths of his earnings retainingfor personal use only a quarter of the total.

This had an instantaneous effect. By the mercy of a Dev, allhis wealth was recovered and his affluence restored.

Henceforth, Dhanasar became a devout Shravak whoregularly spent his wealth on seven worthy items: Jainabodes, Jain idols, Jain literature, Jain Munis, Jain nuns,Jain Shravaks, and Jain Shravikas. He lived the rest of hislife worthily” Amit concluded the story.

“Bhaiya, from now on I will also do charity. But what shouldI do?” Aditi asked.

“There are many things that you can do. For example, youcan save some amount from your pocket money to help the

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needy. How else can you help? Jaya can you tell me?”Amitasked.

“Bhaiya, on our birthday we get many gifts. We can donatetwo or three gifts to a needy child” Jaya answered.

“That is a very good idea! Next time you all must try todonate at least one gift on your birthday.”

“Vidyamaan, you seem to be deep in thought. What are youthinking?” Amit asked.

“Bhaiya, is it necessary to do charity only for humanbeings?” Vidyamaan asked solemnly.

“No, my dear child you can help animals also. In factbecause they are unable to speak it is very important to bekind to them.”

“Bhaiya, then I have decided! I will make a shelter for thepoor street dogs and their pups so that they have a home”Vidyamaan said.

“Vidyamaan, you are very clever! This way we will be able tohave many pets.” Urja said admiringly.

“You want to keep a pet dog?” Amit asked.

“Yes, Bhaiya we have been telling mom to allow us to keepa pet dog but she has been refusing. Now we will tell her thatit is part of our charity plan.” Urja said excitedly.

“I don’t think I want to say anything to this. You kids are toosmart.” Amit said in a tone of resignation.

“Well, this is all for today. We will meet tomorrow. JaiJinendra bacchho” Amit finished.

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The children left chattering like monkeys. Urja andVidyamaan reached home with Maa. They found Nanajiwaiting for them.

“Nanaji, I hope you had your dinner today” Vidyamaanasked with concern.

“Yes, my dear don’t worry, I reached home in time fordinner. Now tell me something. Would you like to go andvisit Dronagarh temple tomorrow?” Nanaji asked.

“How far is it from here?” Vidyamaan asked

“It will take us two hours to reach there. It is a beautifultemple situated on a small hill.”

“Yes, Nanaji let’s go. I want to see it” Urja said excited.

“She just wants to roam about all the time” Vidyamaan said.

“And you just want to stay at home” Urja retaliated.

“Peace, children peace! We will go early tomorrow so go tosleep now” Nanaji ordered.

Urja and Vidyamaan snuggled upto Maa for their bedtimestory.

“What did you learn today, children” she asked.

“Maa, we learnt that we should always do good deeds” Urjaanswered.

“And Maa, we should do charity” Vidyamaan said.

“Very good! It is very important to have lofty ideals andnoble thoughts. Your noble thoughts will always show youthe right way. I’ll tell you the story of Mamman Sheth toillustrate the power of our thoughts.

One day, Lord Mahavir sent his learned discipleGautamswami to preach to a faithful follower Mamman

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Sheth who was on his deathbed. While preaching to himGautamswami felt that Mamman Sheth was a great soul.After preaching Gautamswami left and had barely gone acouple of metres when he learnt that Mamman had died.

When he returned to Lord Mahavir, Gautamswami askedhim, “Lord, where has Mamman gone after death?”

Lord Mahavir replied, “He has been born as a beindriya jivain the forehead of his wife.”

Gautamswami was extremely astonished and said, “ButLord he was a very devout shravak and had done goodkarmas. Then why did he get such a rebirth?”

Lord Mahavir replied, “Mamman Sheth was a good shravakand while you were preaching he had good thoughts butafter your departure his wife began lamenting and weepingloudly. She dashed her head against the wall and it began tobleed. Mamman Sheth was near death and he saw her tear-stained face and thought of her future unhappiness. Hisattachment to his wife and thoughts of her sorrow were sostrong at the time of death that his death was spoiled and hewas reborn as a jiva in the wound on his wife’s forehead.”

“What is a beindriya jiva?” Urja asked

“Beta, human beings are five sensed beings because theyhave the sense of touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell.Beindriya jiva is a jiva which has only two senses of touchand taste” Maa explained.

“Maa, that is a very harsh punishment” Urja exclaimed.

“Yes, my dear that is why we should always be careful ofwhat we think and how we act because the effects are farreaching.”

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Now it is time to sleep. Tomorrow we have to get up early.Good night.”

The next day the children were woken up by Maa and theygot ready eagerly. They sat in the car and reachedDronagarh in around two hours. They got down from thecar and looked around in delight. Nanaji had been right.

It was a beautiful place. They stood at the base of a hill andthere was greenery everywhere. Slowly they began ascendingthe hill. They reached the top and at the entrance hung ahuge bell which they all rang. They entered inside andstopped in wonder. The entire temple walls had beenpainted with beautiful drawings.

“Maa, what are these drawings?” Urja asked in hushedtones.

“Beta, these drawings are illustrations of famous stories.”

“Maa, who is this muni sitting under a tree? And there is aking standing and listening to him.” Vidyamaan askedcuriously.

“This is the story of Muni Keshikumar and King Pardeshi.”

Maa, tell us more about them” Vidyamaan entreated.

“Muni Keshikumar was a learned Muni in LordParshvanath’s ascetic order. He was immenselyknowledgeable and possessed Avadhignan and Manah-paryaya-gyan. His fame was widespread and largeaudiences attended his sermons. One day, among hisaudience was present Chitra, the trusted chariot driver of theking of Shvetambik.

The discourses of Acharya Keshikumar were so inspiringthat numerous people were initiated into the religion. Chitra

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also initiated himself into the twelve vows of a Jainhouseholder and became a Shravak.

When it was time to leave, he requested the Acharya, “Oh,Lord, our city Shvetambik is very pleasant, charming andbeautiful. Please pay us a visit and give us the opportunity toserve you.”

The Acharya replied, “Chitra, just as it is not safe to stay in aforest haunted by fierce animals, similarly it is not advisableto visit a city governed by a cruel monarch.”

Chitra said, “Maharaj, do not be concerned about kingPardeshi. The people of the city will be deeply obliged andwill pay their homage and serve you if you grant them anopportunity. Your visit shall be a great obligation. Please donot refuse my entreaty.”

Chitra’s persistency and sincerity touched the Acharya andhe replied, “As the circumstances shall permit.”

Chitra left satisfied that the Acharya would somedaycertainly visit Shvetambik. When he reached Shvetambik hecalled the guards of the outside parks and said, “AcharyaKeshikumar is likely to arrive here. When he arrives, youmust pay homage, bow down to him and offer him a placeand make him comfortable. Thereafter, immediately informme about his arrival.”

After a few months, the guards came to Chitra and informedhim that Acharya Keshikumar had arrived in the park alongwith a group of his disciples.

Chitra was overjoyed at the news and he gave a handsomereward to the guard. Then he rushed to pay his respects tothe Acharya.

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The Acharya’s sermons had a positive effect on the peopleand they came in huge numbers to listen to him.

One day after he finished his sermon Chitra addressed theAcharya and said, “O blessed one, our king Pardeshi is notat all religious and doesn’t rule the kingdom properly. Thepeople of this city would be extremely obliged if you preachto him and transform him.”

The Acharya replied, “Chitra, I can preach religion to yourking Pardeshi provided he comes here.”

Chitra replied eagerly, “Acharya, I shall bring him here bywhatever means I can.”

The next day Chitra approached the king and said, “Yourmajesty, a horse trader has come to our town and he has acollection of magnificent horses. I request you to kindlyinspect them.”

The king said, “Alright! Bring the best four horses and tiethem to the chariot and we will go for a ride.”

Chitra procured fine horses from a trader and tied them tothe chariot. Then Chitra and King Pardeshi set out in thechariot. Chitra drove the chariot out of the city and wentquite far.

Soon, the king became tired and thirsty and said, “Chitra,now turn back the chariot.”

Chitra turned back and halted near the park where MuniKeshikumar was staying. He said, “Your majesty, this isMrigavan park. We shall rest here for a while. The horsescan also rest and roam about a bit.”

The king consented and Chitra began tending to the horses.The king descended from the chariot and after patting the

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horses stretched and went for a stroll. Suddenly, he cameacross Muni Keshikumar seated under a tree and preachingto the townspeople.

The glow and vitality on Muni Keshikumar’s face struck theking and he wondered who the Muni was.

He asked, “Chitra, what is all this going on? Who is that foolpreaching to these stupid people? Can’t we relax in thegarden? I want to rest in peace and this fellow is giving me aheadache.”

Chitra said, “Your majesty this is Muni Keshikumar, a verylearned and esteemed Jain muni. He possesses Avadhigyanand has immense knowledge.”

The king said, “What do you say? This fellow possessesAvadhigyan?

Chitra said, “Yes, your majesty.”

The king said, “I will test him!”

Chitra said, “Certainly, your majesty.”

The king and Chitra approached Muni Keshikumar.

The king asked, “O Muni, do you possess Avadhigyan?”

The Acharya replied, “O king when you saw me youthought, “Who is this fool who is preaching to the peopleand not allowing me to rest in peace?”

The king said, “This is true. But how could you know this?What knowledge do you possess which enables you to readmy thoughts?”

The muni replied, “O king, our scriptures have laid downfive types of knowledge: Mati, Shruti, Avadhi, Manah-

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paryav and Keval. The first four are familiar to me and so Ican read what goes on in your mind.”

The king asked, “O Muni, can I sit here ?”

The Muni said, “It is up to you.”

The King and Chitra sat near the Muni.

The king asked him, “O Muni, you believe that body andsoul are separate and distinct. Is it true?”

Muni Keshikumar replied, “Yes, it is true.”

The king said, “I believe that the soul and the body are notdistinct but are identical and the same. Do you want to knowhow I arrived at such a conclusion? When my grandfatherwas the king he committed many crimes and led a life of sin.So, according to our scriptures he must have gone to hell. Iwas his beloved grandson and he doted on me. If as you saybody and soul are distinct then his soul would have come tothis world and warned me, “Child, do not commit any sinotherwise you will go to hell.” But he has never turned up towarn me. So, I believe body and soul are not distinct.”

The Muni said, “O king supposing someone murders yourwife queen Suryakanta. How will you punish him?”

The king said, “I will have his hands and legs chopped andhave him hung.”

The Muni said, “O king, what will you do, if the murdererrequests you to wait so that he can go and warn his relativesnot to indulge in any crime or wrongdoing?

The king said, “The fellow will be hanged for his offencewithout any hesitation or delay.”

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The Muni replied, “O king, your grandfather is also in thesame situation. So, how can he come and warn you? Hecannot come back to the human world because he is not freeto leave hell.”

The king said, “I have another argument to support myconviction that there is no independent entity as soul. Mygrandmother was very religious minded and highly devotedto the Jain Munis. She used to practice penance andrestraint of the senses. Since she committed no wrongs shemust have gone to heaven when she died. I was her onlygrandchild and she used to love me a lot.

If her soul had survived then she would have come fromheaven and told me, “Dear grandson, practice religion as Idid and you shall gain heavenly happiness.” But she has notturned up to tell me anything of the sort and so I do notbelieve that body and soul are distinct.”

The Muni replied, “Answer a question of mine. Supposingyou have bathed and are about to leave for the temple. Youare dressed in clean clothes and are proceeding towards thetemple. While going you cross a toilet and a voice call out toyou. Would you go inside?”

The king responded: “Why would I attend to the voice at all?The lavatory is a filthy place so why would I go there?”

The muni said, “Similarly, your grandmother who has beenelevated as an angel in heaven would not come and tell youabout her happiness because for them the human world is adirty and filthy place and the world that she is in is a fragrantand clean place.”

The king said, “I still don’t agree that the body and soul aredistinct. I have evidence to prove this. Once upon a time amurderer was brought to me. As punishment I had him put

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inside an iron box, the lid of which was tightly closed and thegap was welded. After three days when that box was openedthe man was found dead. If as you say, body and soul aredistinct then how did the soul escape from the box? The boxhad not even a tiny hole from which the soul could haveescaped. Therefore, I contend that body and soul are oneand when body stops its activity the soul also stops all itsactivity.”

The muni replied, “O king, supposing there is a big roomwith a circular dome with all its doors closed fast with no airpenetrating through. A man enters the room with a bell anda hammer and hammers the bell. Would the sound be heardoutside?”

The king said, “Yes, it would be heard.”

The muni said, “But there is no hole in the room.”

The king agreed, “Yes, there is no hole.”

The muni said, “O king, just as the sound can escape from aroom without a hole, the soul can also escape from a boxwithout a hole.”

The king said, “Once I weighed a thief before he was hungand then I weighed him after he was dead. There was nodifference in his weight. If as you say body and soul aredistinct entities, there should have been at least somechange in weight but there was no change and therefore, Irest my contention that body and soul are one and thesame.”

The muni asked: “O king, is there any difference in theweight of an empty bag and a bag filled with air?”

The king replied, “No, there is no difference.”

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The muni asked, “There is no difference in the weight of anempty bag and that of an air-filled bag but that does notmean that the bag does not contain air. Just as air has noweight but is distinct from the bag and present in the bagsimilarly the soul has no weight but is distinct and is presentin the body.”

The king said, “Maharaj, for generations our familymembers have been non-believers. How can I disown theseatheistic beliefs?”

The muni responded, “O king, I will tell you a story about anobstinate fellow who refused to give up a load of iron barsand how he repented later. A group of miners went deepinto the forest where they found an iron mine. All of themcollected iron in heaps, loaded them on donkeys and setout. As they proceeded further they found a lead mine.Since lead is more valuable than iron, all of them unloadedthe iron and loaded heaps of lead to carry along. But oneman did not unload the iron bundle. His companions triedhard to persuade him but he didn’t budge.

He said, “I have carried this bundle for a long distance now.It is well tied up, and I do not want to put in the extra effortof unloading it and loading something else.”

The group then proceeded further and found mines ofcopper, silver and gold one after the other. Each time, theyunloaded the less valuable thing and picked up the morevaluable thing. But the obstinate man refused to give up hisload of iron and proceeded on alone. Finally, they reached acity where they sold their load and earned a lot of wealth.

The obstinate fellow sold his heap of iron and earned verylittle money. He realized his foolishness and thought, “Ifonly I hadn’t been foolishly obstinate to retain worthless load

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and had gone after the more precious stuff, I too could haveearned ample wealth like my companions.”

The muni addressed the king, “O king, don’t be obstinate.Let go of your incorrect and worthless beliefs if you don’twant to repent like the man who carried the iron bars.”

The logic and strength of the muni Keshikumar’s wordsconvinced king Pardeshi and he decided to turn to religion.He undertook the observance of twelve vows and becamespiritual and worthy.” Maa concluded the story.

“Maa, in the last drawing he is shown seated on a cloud withhis hand raised. Why is he shown like this?” Vidyamaanasked.

“He is shown like this because after his death he became adev named Suryabha.” Maa explained.

Word Meaning

Word Meaning

Atheistic – lack of belief in religionBrooding – thinking unpleasant thoughtsContend – assertElevated – raisedEntreaty – requestEsteemed – respectedHeretics – those who go against religionInitiated – admittedManah-paryay-gyan – power of knowing the thoughts in another

person’s mindProcured – obtainedResignation – acceptance of the inevitableStinginess – meanness

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They moved on to the next wall which showed a youngprincess standing before an angry king. The next drawing inthe series showed her being married to a sickly looking man.The next drawing showed them both seated on the floorwith folded hands and praying. The last drawing showedthem seated on the royal throne with the devs showeringpetals on them and the people celebrating.

“Maa who is this princess?” Urja asked.

“She is princess Maynasundari and this is her husbandShripal. Theirs is a very interesting story. The king andqueen of Champanagar had a son named Shripal. The kingdied when Shripal was five years old. His brother seized thethrone and decided to get rid of Shripal in order to safeguardhimself. But the queen fled from Champanagar along withher son.

But she was being pursued by the new king’s soldiers and inorder to save her son she gave him up to a group oftravelling gypsies. The gypsies however suffered from adisease called leucoderma in which the skin of the bodyturns patchy and white. The leader warned the queen thather son could contract the disease. But the desperate queenentrusted her son to them with a heavy heart.

Shripal too contracted leucoderma. But he grew up to bebold and charismatic and was made the leader and namedUmar Rana. The group continued to travel from place toplace and happened to arrive at Ujjayini, the capital ofMalwa.

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The ruler was King Prajapal and his queen was Rupsundari.They had two daughters named Sursundari andMaynasundari. They were very beautiful, smart andintelligent. The king loved both of them and they had beenwell educated and fully trained in all the arts.

Once the king decided to test their knowledge and calledthem in the assembly. First he asked a number of questionsto Sursundari who answered them well.

The king then asked, “Now tell me who is responsible for allthe comforts, amenities and luxuries that you enjoy?

Sursundari humbly replied, “Your majesty, whateverluxuries and comforts I am enjoying are because of yourbenevolence.”

The king felt proud and said, “You are absolutely right. I amextremely pleased with your answer.”

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Then it was Maynasundari’s turn. She too gave satisfactoryreplies to the king’s questions. Then the king put the samequestion to her that he had put to Sursundari. He expectedthat Mayna too would give a similar answer and please him.

However, Mayna had studied the doctrines of her religion atlength. She was familiar with the doctrines of karma andpaap and punya. Therefore, her reply was very different.

She said, “With due respect, your majesty I want to statethat you have been an extremely benevolent and generous

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father. But the affluence and luxuries that I am enjoying arethe result of my previous karmas. I must have earned goodkarmas in the past which have resulted in my happysituation. If I had bad karmas, no one on this earth couldbestow happiness on me.”

The king’s pride was hurt at this unexpected reply.

He said, “What nonsense are you saying? If it wasn’t for meyou wouldn’t have enjoyed all these luxuries.”

Mayna said, “Dear father, I love you very much but ourreligion also states that one’s situation is a result of one’skarmas and no one else can make any difference.”

The king became furious at her persistence and said, “Soyou deny that your comfortable, happy situation is a resultof my benevolence! I will teach you a lesson.”

He asked his men to bring forth the poorest and sickest manin Ujjayini. The soldiers spotted Umar Rana and broughthim to the court. The king married off Mayna to Umar andprovided them with just the basic necessities and set themup in a small house taunting Mayna to undergo the fruits ofher karmas.

Mayna remained unperturbed and accepted the developmentsas the result of her karmas. She took all possible care ofShripal and turned him towards religion. They would bothgo to temples and listen to the sermons of learned Munis.

One day she happened to visit Acharya Munichandra whowas a renowned scholar. When the Acharya saw Shripal’sdisease he advised Mayna to perform the Navpad poojawhich can cure all types of diseases. Mayna and Shripaldevoutly performed Navapada worship and observed all itsrigorous and strict rules.

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The result was miraculous. Shripal’s disease started fadingand in due course, he regained the original skin that he hadand became strikingly handsome. Mayna was very happyand blessed her Karma for the miraculous change. Since themiracle had been wrought by their devotion to Navapada,Mayna and Shripal continued to observe it religiously.

The king too came to know of the miracle and he acceptedthe truth of Mayna’s words. He invited Mayna and Shripal tolive with him in his palace. But Shripal wanted to regain hislost kingdom so he set out and traveled far and wide andacquired wealth and a huge army. Finally, he reachedChampanagar and sent a message to his uncle to give up the

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throne he had wrongly seized. His uncle refused so Shripalinvaded Champanagar with his vast army. His uncle wascaptured and Champanagar was won by Shripal. However,he released his uncle from captivity. Thereafter, Shripal andMayna spent the rest of their lives happily as the king andqueen of Champanagar.” Maa concluded.

“Maynasundari was very brave to defy her own father” Urjasaid in admiration.

“Yes, she was ready to forgo her luxurious and comfortablelife for her beliefs. Faith in our religious beliefs gives usimmense strength” Maa explained.

The next wall had a huge painting depicting a man who washanging from the branch of a tree with his mouth open to

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catch drops of honey which were falling from a beehivehanging on the branch over him. Below him was a wellwhich had an alligator and snakes and there were also tworats who were chewing the branch that he was hangingfrom.

“Maa what does this painting depict?” Urja asked.

“Beta, this is a very famous painting and we can see it invarious Jain temples. This drawing is titled Madhubindu andit depicts a human being’s lust for the pleasures of life.”

“What does lust for the pleasures of life mean?” Vidyamaangave a confused look.

“Beta, it means greed for the good things or the luxuries oflife. Most of us just want to eat, drink, enjoy and make merryin life and we don’t bother about anything else” Maa said.

“But Maa, is it wrong to enjoy life?” Urja asked.

“No, beta it is not wrong to enjoy life but we should notmake this enjoyment the main purpose of life. The story ofMadhubindu shows us what happens when we do that.”

Maa proceeded to tell the story. “The man shown here is atraveler named Madhubindu who was passing a strangetown. He was accosted by four thugs and Madhubindu raninto the forest. He lost the robbers but in the forest, anelephant started to chase him. He was soon exhausted andcouldn’t run any more. So, he climbed a tree to avoid beingcrushed by the powerful elephant.

But he slipped down the tree and only managed to grab abranch of the tree. Right below the branch that he hadgrabbed was a deep well which had an alligator and foursnakes. The branch that he hung from also had two rats,

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one black and one white who were chewing the branch. Helooked up and found that drops of honey drops were fallingfrom a beehive above him.

He was in a major predicament. The elephant was shakingthe tree violently as a result of which drops of honey werefalling and he put out his tongue to catch the drops. Thesweetness of the honey made him forget the bees whichwere stinging him and the dangerous animals around him.

Just then, he was seen by a dev couple who were flying inthe sky. The female dev felt sorry for Madhubindu and askedher husband to rescue him from his troubles. The devoffered his hand but Madhubindu asked him to wait until hetasted the next drop of honey. So, they waited. After thenext drop the dev asked again but Madhubindu asked him towait for a few seconds more. This continued till the devs gottired of waiting and left him to his fate. A few minutes later,Madhubindu fell to his inevitable death” Maa recounted.

“How stupid of Madhubindu! Why didn’t he accept the dev’shelp? Didn’t he know he would die?” Urja asked.

“Beta, this story is symbolic of the plight of all humanbeings.”

“What does this mean?” Vidyamaan asked.

“I’ll explain. Madhubindu represents us humans and theelephant is death who threatens all of us. The well and thesnakes and alligator represent the four passions of anger,pride, greed and hypocrisy. The branch which is being cutby the two rats represents the life-span of a living being,which is continuously being reduced as time passes whilethe bees represent daily problems. The honey stands formomentary sensual pleasures which this world offers.

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Just like Madhubindu, most of us are so deeply immersed inthe pleasures and enjoyment of the world that we forget thatthese pleasures are momentary and cannot give us realhappiness and peace. The devs represent religion, whichcan rescue us from the perils of this world and can help usachieve real happiness and salvation. Madhubindu wouldhave been saved if only he had listened to the dev. Oursalvation too lies in religion.” Maa finished her explanation.

They proceeded further and paid their obeisance and satdown for puja. After they finished they started on the wayback. They had to take a different path and they passedseveral statues of the tirthankars while they were walking.They offered samagri before each statue. Suddenly, theycame across a statue which had creepers twined around itslegs.

“Maa, who is this tirthankar? Why are there creepersaround his legs?” Urja asked.

“Maybe he was captured by some enemy who fought withhim and tied him up in plants” Vidyamaan hazarded aguess.

“Please Vidyamaan, do you have to always think of enemiesand battles?” Urja said exasperatedly.

Maa and nanaji were amused at Vidyamaan’s interpretationand smiled. Then Maa said, “This is the statue of BhagwanBahubali who was the younger son of Lord Adinath. LordAdinath had a hundred sons of whom Bharat was the eldest,followed by Bahubali and then ninety eight other sons.When Lord Adinath renounced, he divided his vast kingdombetween all his sons.

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Bharat was an ambitious ruler and wanted to becomeemperor of the entire country so he began his journey ofconquest. He easily conquered all the regions and thenasked his younger brothers to acknowledge his superiority.His ninety eight brothers realized the futility of fighting withtheir elder brother and so they surrendered their territoriesto him, renounced worldly life and became disciples of LordRishabhadev.

Only Bähubali would not surrender. He was very strong andhad the will and capacity to fight. Therefore, he refusedBharat’s request to accept a subordinate status and beganpreparations to fight. Both brothers had huge armies andwar between them was sure to result in large-scalebloodshed. Soon the armies stood face to face on thebattlefield.

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The ministers on both sides decided to take steps to avertunnecessary bloodshed. They requested the two kings toavoid a full scale war and instead to engage in a one to oneduel. There would be three rounds and the victor of the duelwould be the acknowledged leader.

Bharat and Bähubali both agreed. The day of the duelarrived. The first round was to be Dhristiyudh in which each

had to continuously stare at the other. Whoever would blinkfirst would be the loser. Bahubali was taller than Bharat andhe had to look down at Bharat. Bharat had to crane his neckand look up at Bahubali and it was tougher. It was easier forBahubali and eventually Bharat lost. The next round was

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Jalyudh in which they both had to continuously splash eachother with water. In this round too Bahubali won because hewas physically stronger and fitter than Bharat. The lastround was Malyudh in which they had to wrestle with eachother. Bahubali was again the winner because of hisstrength.

Defeat made Bharat livid and desperate. Ignoring the rulesof the duel he unleashed his most powerful weapon, the

Chakraratna, at Bähubali. It was a circular wheel which hadthe power to cut off the head of the opponent but the one

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important quality of the weapon was that it wouldn’t harmthe blood relatives of the one who unleashed it. Therefore,Bähubali remained unharmed.

Bähubali became enraged by Bharat’s violation of the rulesof the duel and raised his hand to smash his elder brother.But just then a thought flashed in his mind. “What am Idoing? Have I gone mad? Am I going to kill my elder brotherfor the sake of some worldly poss-essions that my reveredfather willingly aban-doned and which my other brothershave given up?”

That very moment he changed his mind and instead ofusing his fist to smash his brother, he used it to pull out hishair in a sign of renunciation of worldly life. But Bähubalihad not lost his pride and ego. Joining his father’s ordermeant being subservient to his 98 younger brothers whowere senior to him in monkhood. This was unacceptable tohim. So, he decided to seek enlightenment on his own andbegan meditating on the very spot that he stood. Hebecame totally immersed in his meditation and a yearpassed with Bahubali standing in the same spot. Creepersbegan to grow around his feet but he did not gainenlightenment.

Lord Adinath sent Brähmi and Sundari to see him. Theycame to where Bahubali was standing like a statue andgently told him, “You cannot get enlightenment while sittingon an elephant. Get off the elephant.”

When their familiar voices reached Bähubali’s ears, heopened his eyes in amazement and looked around but didnot find himself on an elephant. He then realized that theelephant they were referring to was his ego and his pride.He immediately dissolved his ego and decided to go to Lord

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Adinath and bow down to his ninety eight brothers.

Just as he took the first step to go, he achieved fullenlightenment and became omniscient.” Maa finished.

“Children you must always remember it is our ego and oursuperficial pride which causes anger and leads one to wrongand destructive behavior. This, in turn, builds negativekarma and impedes our spiritual progress. Therefore, weshould dissolve our ego and cultivate humility” Nanajiadded.

“What about Bharat? What happened to him?” Vidyamaanasked.

“He had a long and happy reign and then he too renouncedall worldly pleasures and became a monk and eventuallyattained enlightenment” Maa said.

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By now they had reached the place from where they hadstarted. After having breakfast in the Bhojnalaya theystarted back for home.

“Maa, I wish we weren’t going back today” Urja saidwistfully.

“Yes beta, even I don’t want to let you both go” maa replied.

“Maa, why don’t you talk to mom and ask her to let us stayon for some more days?” Vidyamaan asked.

“Yes, call Veena and tell her that we will send the childrennext week. Let them stay here and enjoy” Nanaji orderedMaa.

“But they will miss school. And your mom has speciallyasked me not to let you miss school. Remember last timealso we had made you stay back and you missed your unittests and your overall grade was affected” Maa said gently.

“But mom says marks are not important. Knowledge ismore important and we are gaining so much moreknowledge here” Urja grinned.

“Yes, jiji now mom won’t be able to refuse. Maa, you call herand tell her that attending dharma school and we arelearning so many new things” Vidyamaan added excitedly.

Maa and Nanaji looked at each other in amusement as thechildren offered their enthusiastic excuses.

Finally, Nanaji said, “It is decided. Call Veena and tell herthat we will send them next week.”

Maa smiled and dialled their mother’s number.

“Hello, Veena? Jai Jinendra. How are you? Yes, we are fine.We all are enjoying ourselves. No, No, they don’t fight much

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❑❑❑

just a little bit sometimes. I wanted to ask you something.Can they miss school for some days? We will send themnext week. It is only a matter of five days” Maa said on thephone.

The next moment she smiled and said, “They are attendingDharam school here. And Urja is saying that you will agreeto them staying on since you say that knowledge is moreimportant than marks.”

“Oh, yes they have grown very smart and know how to gettheir way. Alright then I’ll give them the good news and I’llget their tickets done for next week. Take care. We will talkto you later” Maa rung off.

“Baccho, your mother is as smart as you! She knew youwould want to stay on and so she didn’t get your returntickets done. So, now you both are staying on for a week”Maa related happily.

“Wow !” “Great !” the children whooped in excitement.They began chattering excitedly about what all they weregoing to do.

“Hush, now go off to sleep. We have another two hours