Story Book

Author(s): Shrimad Rajchandra, Dinubhai M Patel
Publisher: Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/007663/1

Page #1

Shrimad R
Written by
aichandra
STORY BOOK
Derived from
Trom Bhavan
odh and Moke
ODEO

Page #2

PREFACE OF FIRST EDITION
This book contains a complete collection of twelve bhavanas from Shrimad Rajchandra's Bhavanabodh. These twelve bhavanas are the mother of all detachments. They show us the real sides of the world, body and worldly pleasures and hence they are extremely important to our soul.
First of all we must practice non-attachment by winning over Anger, Pride, Deciet and Greed to have a real detachment from inner self. And if we don't reduce the feeling of attachment from our inner self, we cannot get self realization. Without self-realization, we cannot be free from all the miseries and sorrows. So a continuous study of these twelve bhavanas is recommended by great saints. Hence, for easy understanding of these 12 bhavanas, a colorful pictorial representation is done along with the stories related to these bhavanas.
Similarly, it also contains stories from "Mokshmala" book along with the colourful pictures for the clear and thorough understanding of all the concepts. May this book be helpful to everybody in attaining the feeling of detachment. With these well wishes, I conclude.
Soul Seeker, Parasbhai Jain, Agas Ashram
INDEX
From Bhavanabodh : Page From Mokshmala :
Page Anitya Bhavana (Dejection of a beggar)....01 Bahubala ....
................36 Asharan Bhavana (Anathi Muni).........04 Kamdev Shravaka ............................. Ekatva Bhavana (Namiraj)...............08 Truth (King Vasuraja) ........................ Anyatva Bhavana....... ................14 To reduce possessions .................... (Emperor Bharateshwar)
(Emperor Subhum) Ashuchi Bhavana (Sanat kumar).........19 Protection of all living beings Part-1 .......44 Nivrutibodh (Mrugaputra) ...................22 Protection of all living beings Part-1........46 Asrava Bhavana (Kundarik)................29 (Abhaykumar) Samvar Bhavana (Pundarik, ..............30 Truth getting successfully by modesty...48 Vajraswami)
(Shrenik Raja) Nirjara Bhavana (Dradh Prahari) .........33 Sudarshan Seth ..........
...........50 Lokswarup Bhavana .........................34 Uncomparble forgiveness (Gajsukumar).52 Bodhdurlabh Bhavana .....................36 Kapilmuni Part-I, II, III ..
I, II, III ..........................54 Dharmadurlabh Bhavana .................36 Happiness for liberation (Good Bhil) ......58

Page #3

ееееееееееее
ecce
CEEEEEEEced
Pictorial
STORY BOOK
(Derived from Bhavanabodh and Mokshmala)
Originally written in Gujarati
by Shrimad Rajchandra
Translated in English
by Dinubhai M. Patel Retired Professor of Philosophy
Elphinston College, Mumbai
Publisher Shrimad Rajchandra Gyan Mandir, Banglore
c
e
le
cececececececece

Page #4

BHAVANABODH - TWELVE SENTIMENTS
First Picture
ANITYA BHAVANA (Contemplation of Transience of every Worldly Object)
(Upajati poetic form) "Vidyuta Laxmi Prabhuta Patanga, Ayushya te to Jalana Taranga; Purandari Chapa Ananga Ranga,
Shun Rachie Tyan Kshanano Prasanga !" Special Meaning :- Wealth and riches are shortlived like a lightning in the sky which no sooner gives a flash of light, vanishes leaving more darkness than before. Similarly wealth and prosperity come to a man but they also leave him a pauper behind. Power and status are like the fleeting colours of a butterfly whose life is only of a few moments. A man may get high power and social status, but after some time feels broken down when they leave him suddenly. Life is like the waves of ocean water which constantly move up and down. Similarly a soul gets birth in a body which lasts for some time and at death it leaves the body compulsorily and gets born again in another body. Sensual pleasures are comparable to a rainbow in the monsoon sky wherein due to sunrays we find many disparate colours called vibgyor but none of them remains for long, they appear only for a moment and suddenly vanish. Just as the fleeting colours of a rainbow of a monsoon sky, in youth the pangs of sex attraction and such sensual pleasures are experienced for some time and later on, nearing oldage none of them remains. In short O you living soul! All these objects of pleasure and enjoyment are only momentary and how can a wise man be bound by such shackles ? All these are fleeting and vanishing while your soul is eternal; therefore you work towards realising the true nature of your eternal soul and obtain immortality !
DEJECTION OF A BEGGAR Example :- Here is an example of transient and dreamlike happiness. Once a miserable beggar while wandering aimlessly in a forest, felt hungry and so languidly he reached a nearby village wherein approaching a common man's home, he ardently begged for some food to quell his hunger. The householder's wife, feeling pity at the beggar, gave him left over sweet

Page #5

Bhavnabodh - Anitya Bhavana
food in the house, receiving which the beggar was all pleased. He then reached under the shade of a tree on the outskirts of the village, cleaned a little space
and putting nearby his old pitcher of water and his tattered and dirty quilt, he finished his unusual sweet lunch and sat completely satisfied and pleased. Then putting a stone as his pillow he lay down and in no time feeling intoxicated by the unusual good lunch he had, his eyes were closed and he fell into good sleep.
In his sleep he dreamt that he had acquired great royal prosperity and he was wearing costly clothes and ornaments, in his kingdom he had earned a fame of a highly victorious ruler, his band of obedient servants were serving him and his attendants were praising him and he was sleeping on a rich bed in a beautiful mansion and heavenly women were massaging his feet and servants were waving fans carrying fragrant wind. Thus this beggar experienced an unusual happy dream full of all worldly pleasures and enjoyments and he was overpowered by happiness of the dream and began to feel the dream as a real life. Just at this moment the sun was covered by dark clouds, the lightning flickers started and the darkness spread out everywhere and the signs of heavy rains appeared. A strong loud thunder was heard and this thunder rudely woke up the beggar suddenly from his beautiful dream and he was caught with fear.
When he woke up, to his utter dismay, he did not find anything of his dream, there is no kingdom or the city he dreamt of, nor any mansion or his dreamt rich bed, nor any damsels or attendants, nor the dreamt ornaments and beautiful dresses, neither fragrance giving fans' none to follow his commands, nor his pride of wealthy acquisitions and unusual fame. Instead, he finds himself and his tattered bed and old worn out pitcher of water exactly where he put them before sleeping. Thus he appeared as he was with dirty and tattered clothing on his body and a beggar in reality with no increase or decrease in his real life. Thinking about this vast difference in this wakeful life and the dream he dreamt, he felt awefully dejected. The dream which brought him unusual pleasures was no more. He said to himself, 'I did not enjoy the pleasures of the dream and what I gained in real life is the unhappiness and dejection of losing the dream pleasures.' Thus this poor beggar experienced mental depression.
Lesson :- Just as the beggar in the above example saw all worldly pleasures and happiness in a dream and he felt he really enjoyed them and was pleased with them, the ignorant people in this world feel great satisfaction and enjoyment in dreamlike worldly pleasures but as the dream pleasures appeared to be false to the beggar when he woke up from the sleep, the enlightened and philosophically minded persons realise worldly pleasures like dream pleasures of the beggar. As the beggar felt dejected when he woke up, without enjoying the dream pleasures similarly the ignorant people search for worldly pleasures and feel they are worth enjoying but like that woken up beggar, they in the end suffer miseries, unhappiness and disappointments and they invite their own downfall. They gain nothing but dejection, repentance and deterioration. As none of the dream objects is true in real life, none of the objects of pleasure and happiness in worldly life is really true. Both of them, the dream world and the world of our ordinary wakeful life, are fading and shortlived with attendant fears of misery and unending unhappiness. Thinking this way, the intelligent and right reflecting persons search for the good of the living soul.
Thus with the example of a beggar's wakeful life and dream life, the teaching a lesson of nonattachment on Anitya Bhavana - the soul-saving contemplation of the transience of worldly objects, the first picture of the first lesson of this book "Bhavana Bodh" comes to an end.

Page #6

Dejection of a Beggar
A house wife giving leftover food to the
beggar
Begge pleasingly eats the leftover sweet for
Beggar as a king in his dream.
8
Beggar enjoying royal happiness in a dream
Heavy lightning awoke him leaving him sad

Page #7

Bhavnabodh - Asharan Bhavana
Second Picture ASHARAN BHAVANA (Feeling of Helplessness)
(Upajati poetic form) "Sarvagnano Dharma Susharna Jani, Aradhya Aradhya Prabhav Ani; Anath Ekant Sanath Thashe;
Ena Vina Koi Na Banhya Shashe." Special Meaning - living being, follow whole-heartedly with the powers of your mind, speech and body knowing it worthiest of all protections, the religious discipline as preached selflessly by All-knowing Jineshwar Bhagawan without any expectation of return. At present you are like an orphan; by following the teachings of Jineshwar Bhagawan you will have constant guidance and protection of Lord Mahavir. None except him will help you in putting out of the rotation of your births and deaths.
Persons who seek protection in the worldly illusory pleasures and happiness, or of wrong religious discipline invite their downfall and they always remain orphans. Now we begin the description of the life of Anathi Muni, by knowing which one can appreciate the teaching of Lord Mahavir as stated above. The aim of this description is to help strengthen the Asharan Bhavana in the aspirant for self-realization.
ANATHI MUNI
Example :- King Shrenik of Magadh Desh, which was full of natural beauty and luxuriance, went to Mandikuksha - a forest, for pleasure horse-ride. The strangeness of this forest was very attractive. It contained tree groves of various kinds. Various kinds of creepers were covering the tree and many kinds of birds were relishing these creepers and groves of trees; one could easily hear melodious chirpings of various kinds of birds; the whole forest was strewn with numerous kinds of flowers; various kinds of rivulets were flowing in this forest; in short bedecked with all sorts of natural vernal beauty, this forest was just like a Nandanvan or a garden of Eden. There in this forest King Shrenik caught sight of a young saint engrossed in deep meditation who though deserving all happiness of worldly life, was sitting quietly under the shade of a tree. King Shrenik was highly enamoured by the incomparable beautiful form of this young ascetic (Muni) and the king, being amazed at such incomparable and excellent beauty, began to shower all praises on him in his mind.
Oh, how nice is the skin colour of this ascetic! Oh, how beautiful is his form ! Oh, what an affability this ascetic commands ! Oh, how wonderful is his hold on forgiveness ! Oh, how by his bodily features, he inspires in others a spirit of non-attachment! Oh, how fine is his attitude of desirelessness ! Oh, what an astounding fearless modesty and humility he shows in his behaviour ! Oh, how steadfast he is in keeping himself away from all worldly enjoyments ! Thinking constantly this way, being much delighted at heart mentally praising all his virtuous posture, approaching gently towards him, taking circles round him venerably and then going near to him, he bowed down to that ascetic and sat at a reasonable distance from him neither too near nor too far. Then with folded hands, he in all humility, asked that ascetic -

Page #8

Anathi Muni
"O Arya ! (noble person) you are a youth worthy of all praise. Your age is quite fit for worldly enjoyments. This worldly life is full of various kinds of pleasures and happiness such as sensual pleasures suiting to changing seasons, pleasures of water play and hearing affectionate overtures of enticing women. Leaving all these pleasures and sources of enjoyments and happiness, why do you at this young age, strive hard for ascetic living? Why have you chosen this life ? Please be compassionate and tell me the reason of your practising this ascetic life."
Hearing this address of the King, the ascetic said, -"I was a helpless orphan-like person. O great king ! none from this worldly life could be even a bit good friend who could help me to secure unprecedented happiness nor any friend who could look after my welfare and security, nor a friend who could show compassion to me and mercifully lead me to eternal bliss. This was the reason of my feeling of being an orphan-like person."
King Shrenik smiled to himself, hearing this reply from the ascetic and said, "Oh how do you, possessed of yogic powers, say that you are an orphan ? If you still feel so, I am prepared to be your helper and protector. O you fearless ! you start enjoying all worldly pleasures. O you ascetic ! friend ! start making your rare human birth extremely successful by enjoying the best of worldly life."
Anathi Muni said-"But Oh Shrenik, king of Magadh Desh! you are yourself an orphan; how can you help me to get over my orphanhood ? How can a pauper make one wealthy ? How can a simpleton make others intelligent or an ignorant can enlighten others in knowledge ? How can a barren woman offer a child ? When you yourself are an orphan how will you relieve me from my orphanhood?" Hearing these words of the ascetic, the king was much perturbed and surprised; he was overcome with doubt about his state as he heard such sharp and shocking words of the ascetic like which he had never heard in his life so far. He said, "I have many kinds of horses to ride, I am the owner of many prideful elephants, various sections of army are at my command, I have no dearth of towns, villages, harem and fourlegged animals; all sorts of human enjoyments | possess at my bidding, my servants are very obedient to me, all five kinds of wealth and riches are in my store, whatever I like and desire is quite near to me and quickly available. Being so prosperous and powerful how can I be called an orphan ? Perhaps O lord ! You may be wrong in calling me an orphan." To this the ascetic said, - "O you King, you do not seem to have understood what I meant in calling you an orphan. You are really an orphan but you do not realize it. Now hear patiently and with rapt attention what I say further and then you can decide about the truth or falsity of my calling you an orphan. First I shall tell you how I felt was an orphan and to relieve myself from that orphanhood, how I adopted the life of an ascetic, renouncing all worldly attachments."
"There is a very old, beautiful and mysterious city called Kaushambi wherein lived my very rich father named Dhansanchaya. O great King! When I was very young, my most beautiful and excellent eyes began to ache and give terrible pain and a burning fever overpowered my whole body. The pain even sharper than any weapon, began to torment me as a deadly enemy. I suffered from an excruciating headache due to my paining eyes. I was thus much down with sorrow and suffering like the one resulting from the attack by a thunderbolt of Indra causing terrible fear even in others minds. Many incomparable physicians expert in human hygiene and physiology and many experts in curing bodily ailments by yogic practices came to cure me from my suffering; they tried all sorts of medicines and psychical cures but none of them could cure me from my ailments and this O king, was my experience of being an orphan ! My father began

Page #9

Bhavnabodh - Asharan Bhavana
to spend all his wealth for curing my ailing eyes but all in vain. My mother felt too much miserable at my ailments but she also could not cure me and this O
King, confirmed my feeling of being an orphan ! My elder and younger brothers tried to help me by all means they could command and yet I could not be cured. Similarly my elder and younger sisters tried to help me but none of them succeeded in curing my disease o King ! such was my orphanhood, my wife who was devoted to me and loved me with all her being, shed tears on me, applied various kinds of cooling, soothing ointments and medicaments to my eyes, head and the rest of the body, serving me and staying at my bidding near to me day and night for days together but due to the killing pain I was suffering from, I could not enjoy her youthful passion or satisfy her. Such an obedient wife, who never left my company without my permission, could not relieve my pain and this O King, was my feeling of being an orphan ! Thus neither the affection of some, nor the medicines of some, nor the vailings of some, nor the efforts of some could relieve me from my disease and on all these occasions, I suffered unbearable pain.
Then I really felt dejected at my contact with the unending worldly matters and I decided that in case I get relief from this unbearable sufferings, I would adopt an ascetic life with a spirit of forgiveness to all, of ascetic sense-control and a life of moving without any worldly desires. Thinking this way I went into sleep and O King, when night passed off, my disease disappeared and I felt great relief. In the next morning, I disclosed my decision of renunciation of family life to my parents, wife and the rest and with their blessings, leaving all of them I took to this ascetic life. Thereafter I became lord of self as well as others soul, and now I am the Lord, protector of all kinds of living beings. Thus the Anathi Muni - the ascetic made the king Shrenik to feel the Asharan Bhavana strongly in his mind. The ascetic further preaches the king in that connection
O King! Our soul itself is the creator of Vaitarani - the dangerous river of miseries; our soul itself is the cause of the growth of Shalmali - a sharp weapon like tree of sorrows and sufferings. Our soul itself is just like Kamdhenu - the cow whose milk is the source of fulfilling all sorts of desires and resulting agreeable happiness and joy. Our soul itself is our joyous Nandanavan or garden of Eden. Our soul itself is the creator of our bondages and our soul itself is the liberator of our bondages. Our soul itself creates forms of miseries and our soul itself creates forms of happiness, our soul itself is our closest friend and our soul itself is our direst enemy. Our soul itself performs the noble actions and our soul itself performs the evil actions. Thus in various ways Anathi Muni or the ascetic explained to King Shrenik the facts of soul and its orphan state of worldly life. On hearing the same King Shrenik, was much pleased and satisfied and then the King with both hands folded, addressed the ascetic as under :
"O Lord! You have advised me correctly. You described the orphan state of worldy persons and yourself as it was. O great seer ! You have really been one with an unfailing protector. You have real friends and relatives and you have adopted the right religion. You therefore are the protector or saviour of all orphans. O you holy ascetic ! I beg your pardon for telling you that I can be your protector. I really wish for enlightening advices from you. I was wrong in asking you, O great fortunate ! for enjoyment of sensual pleasures which would really be harmful to a religious person following the right path of liberation. I apologize by bowing down to you with my whole being from head to toe." Thus praising this Anathi Muni, King Shrenik was full of joy and cheerfulness and after taking circles round the ascetic in the spirit of veneration and adoration and in all humility returned home.
Lesson : O fortunate souls ! The teaching of Anathi Muni, who had practised penance

Page #10

Anathi Muni
Anathi Muni suffering unbearable pain
Anahti Muni preaching king Shrenik

Page #11

Bhavnabodh - Ekatva Bhavana
successfully, who was an ascetic par excellence, who was possessed of a very high intellectual and spiritual insight, who was very highly famed, who was
free from all worldly knots and who was well versed in best scriptural knowledge, delivered to Shrenik, the King of Magadh Desh emanating from his own suffering and experience is really helpful to one to have the feeling of being an orphan in worldly life and so it helps one to sustain and cherish this soul saving aspiration - Asharan Bhavana -feeling that except true religion there is no other saviour from human miseries. Ordinarily speaking many a people in their worldly life are seen suffering miseries as much or more than what Anathi Muni experienced. You think of such miseries and cast aside your state of orphanhood and understand the real protector and the best philosophy preached and practised by Vardhaman Mahavir and adopt a fitting life of a non-attached spiritualised soul. In the end, that only will save you from all miseries and lead you to self realization. Just as the great Anathi Muni was an orphan while in his worldly life, every living being without the adoption of true enlightenment and right religious discipline is always an orphan. Hence every effort should be made towards being possessed of a protector or saviour and therein lies a living being's true good.
Thus the description of the great knotless or pure ascetic Anathi Muni given for strengthening the "Asharan Bhavana" the soul saving contemplation comes to an end
in the second picture of the first presentation of this book "Bhavana Bodh."
Third Picture EKATVA BHAVANA (Contemplation of Singleness)
(Upajati poetic form) "Sharir Man Vyadhi Pratkyaksha Thaya
Te Koi Anye Lai Na Shakaya; E Bhogave Eka Sva Atma Pote,
Ekatva Ethi Naya Sugna Gote." Special Meaning : Whatever pains and troubles are actually experienced in one's body when overpowered by diseases, cannot be taken away by any of affectionates, friends, family members, wife or sons. All these diseases are suffered by one's soul alone by itself, none can share them. Similarly the fruits of our actions sinful or saintly are also to be suffered by ourselves without any sharing by others. Our soul comes alone in this world and also departs from it alone. Proving this point, persons having right discrimination are always in a search of being and living alone.
CONVERSATION BETWEEN NAMIRAJ AND SHAKRENDRA Example : Given below is the conversation between Nami Rajarshi and Shakrendra - a deity in heaven who preaches non-attachment towards worldly life and proving the truth of the above teaching of Bhagawan Mahavir.
Nami Rajarshi was a philosopher King of Mithila city. Even though he did not suffer much from his family relations-wife, sons etc., he was never in delusion about the transitory nature of worldly belongings. He always knew that the soul is alone and rightly so. Shakrendra in the guise of a Brahmin arrives at the place where Nami Rajarshi is sitting in worldly retirement and

Page #12

Conversation between Namiraj and Shakrendra
starts his discourse by way of testing the resigned attitude of Nami Rajarshi as under :
Brahmin : O you King ! Mithila city is in great turmoil; your palace and the homes of your subjects are filled with loud wailings and heartbreaking cries which should startle and discourage or dishearten everyone around and the only reason of this sorrowful state of your kingdom is that you have been initiated as a monk, leaving aside your duties as a ruler. Do not be silly to invite worldly circles of birth and death by becoming cause of trouble and unhappiness to your whole family members and subjects. Return to your palace, perform the duties of a noble and benevolent ruler and please them all.
Namiraj :-(In dignified words) O you good Brahmin ! what you advice me, results from your ignorance. This Mithila city had a garden, in the midst of which, there was one tree giving cool shade to a large area around; it was beautiful and pleasing to one and all. It was heavily laden with leaves, flowers and fruits; it was helping in protection of many kinds of birds. A strong wind shook the tree in its roots and by its falling down, all the birds staying in the foliage of that tree are in tears and unbearable pain and they feel, their resort and protection has been lost; they do not cry for the uprooted tree; they cry because they lost their happiness.
Brahmin :- King ! But see how the raging fire helped by powerful winds, is ablaze in your whole city, palace and temples. Therefore you go there and quell the raging fire.
Namiraj :-O Brahmin ! Nothing of mine burns by the burning of Mithila city, my palace or my temples; I live in the way which make me feel happy. Nothing is mine out of all these objects you described above as mine. I have nothing which I can really call mine in the burning temples etc. I have already relinquished my family and all the rest, my sons, my wife and I have cut off all my relations with them. Nothing of all these is either attracting or distracting me.
Brahmin :- But you King ! You fortify your city by a solid fortress with proper inlet doors with strong closing and locking arrangements and get prepared a wide ditch of water all round that fortress capable of destroying hundreds of invaders and then you can go.
Namiraj :-(Inspired by objects and reasons) O Brahmin ! I will prepare a city of pure faith with Samvar as its locking arrangement and will prepare forgivenes as the city's holy fortress and it will have compartments in the form of holy mental yogic disciplines and I shall prepare the ditches all around my fortress by the control of my speech and prepare body control as missile to destroy hundreds of enemies of the soul. I shall take valour as my bow with its string as Irya Samiti, I will have patience as the arch to hold arrowstring and by truth I will tie this arrow in the form of penance and with such arrows I will be victorious over the enemies in the form of worldly bondages. I have no desire of engaging in physical battle or warfare. I only wish to undergo mental warfare as described above.
Brahmin :-(Inspired by objects and reasons) O King ! you first get ready tall buildings with beautiful cony tops for your residences and put in them round windows decorated with diamonds and other costly golden articles and also get ready beautiful palaces in the ponds for your sport and then you can take to non-attachment or renunciation.
Namiraj :-(Inspired by objects and reasons) Whatever kinds of residences, you enumerated and asked me to get ready, appear to me quite unsteady and transient, they appear to me as stay-homes in my path of progress. Therefore where there is my real home, where there is eternity and where there is stability, I wish to stay and remain there.
Brahmin :- (Inspired by objects and reasons) O ! the best of the Kshatriyas ! You first

Page #13

Bhavnabodh - Ekatva Bhavana
remove all theft and robbery in your kingdom and protect your city from such dangers and then take to renunciation.
Namiraj : O Brahmin ! An ignorant man punishes others many a time wrongly-the body etc. which does not know of stealing, gets bound hand and foot in a prison in this world and none can bind the aberrations of senses which really initiate or plan stealing or big thefts. Then, where is the sense in this way of behaviour and action ?
Brahmin :- Kshatriya ! First subdue the kings who do not follow your commands and behave quite independently of you and after conquering them, you can renounce worldly life.
Namiraj :-(Inspired by objects and reasons) You may perhaps find, though difficult, many persons who would conquer ten lakhs enemy warriors but still innumerable times more difficult it is to find one who has conquered his own soul and the latter is highly respectable and deserve more praise than those conquerors of ten lakhs of warriors. It is quite fit and proper to fight with our own living soul. Where is the need to fight with your external enemies ? A soul, full of knowledge should conquer the soul, full of rage etc., and such conqueror deserves all praise and veneration. It is extermely difficult to win five senses, anger, pride, deceit and greed. One who has conquered his own mind etc. has conquered everything.
Brahmin - (Inspired by objects and reasons) First perform mighty sacrifices and give satisfactory food to shraman munis - penance practisers and brahmins; give them gold etc. in charity, enjoy all mental pleasures and then retire from this world and live as an ascetic.
Namiraj :- (Inspired by objects and reasons) One who adopts ascetic life and practice self-control, obtains higher benefits than what obtained by giving every month ten lakhs of cows to Brahmins in charity.
Brahmin :- As a well-behaved ascetic or a recluse, one has to put in much unbearable effort for maintaining oneself on begging food. Therefore one feels like leaving that high natured ascetic life and taking up instead some other comfortable one. To remove this difficulty, it would be advisable for you to lead a householder's life and perform religious observances such as Paushadh. O you king of men ! I tell you the right course of conduct for you.
Namiraj :-(Inspired by objects and reasons) O Brahmin ! An ignorant man, indiscriminatively may perform or undergo difficult penances but they can never be equal to the following of the right religion of the enlightened and all knowing Vardhman Mahavir. His discipline forms one's character spotlessly pure. Only one of the excellenses cannot be equal to sixteen excellences !
Brahmin :- Kshratriya ! You first increase your possession of gold, diamonds, pearls, costly dresses, valuable ornaments, horses etc. and then you can go as a recluse.
Namiraj :-(Inspired by objects and reasons) A greedy person's greed is not satisfied even if he is given innumerable mountains of gold and silver such as Meru Mountain; he still desires more and more to achieve and he is never satisfied. Strong desire for gold and wealth has no end like the endless sky. Wealth, gold, fourlegged animals etc. may be given to a greedy man in as much quantity and number as to fill all the hollow of this world and still he will want more; in short, his greed will always remain unsatisfied. This is the miserable nature of a man's greed. Therefore, enlightened souls follow the penance of contentment.
Brahmin :- (Inspired by objects and reasons) O Kshatriya ! It gives me unprecedented
10

Page #14

Conversation between Namiraj and Shakrendra
wonder that you renounce the life of enjoyment of worldly pleasures which are to your bidding and later on when these pleasures are no more available, you will be mentally tormented when you desire them but you cannot have them. I therefore advise you to leave this practice of yours to be recluse or to be a Muni - ascetic with strong self-discipline.
Namiraj :- (Inspired by objects and reasons) Sensual pleasures are like pierces, they are like poisons, they are like serpents, craving for these pleasures lead people to hell and there they suffer very much. By anger and pride one takes lower birth and by maya or illusory behaviour all their good fortunes get vanished, by greed they are afraid of both the worlds this and the other. Therefore, O Brahmin ! Do not advice me to follow worldly life of sensual pleasures. My heart will never be moved towards false worldly life, it will never feel joy in that false glamour. Who will knowingly drink poison ? Who will like to fall in a well while holding a lamp ? Who will knowingly like to be deluded ? I am not going to return to Mithila accepting poison as beneficial and discarding nectarlike pleasure and joy of the life of a monk.
Shakrendra was extremely delighted to see the strong steadiness of Maharshi Namiraj. He changed his external form of Brahmin into real form of Indra and then began to praise that Lord Rajarshi with sweet words. "O highly famed ! It is great wonder that you have conquered your anger. Wonder, that you have defeated pride. Wonder, that you have got rid of illusion. Wonder, that you have controlled greediness. Wonder, your frankness. Wonder your minelessness. Wonder, your prime forgiveness. Wonder, your ungreediness. O Venerable !
You are excellent in this birth and you will be excellent in your next birth. Becoming free from all your bondages, you will achieve supreme liberation of your soul." Praising this way, taking circles round Rajarshi in mark of veneration, he bowed down at his lotus feet with great faith and devotion. Then that Indra Adorned with beautiful crown, flew away in the sky.
Lesson : Shakrendra who was testing Namiraj in the guise of a Brahmin, has tried to dissuade Namiraj from accepting the life of an ascetic by giving him all possible allurements; he has used his powerful intelligence and skill in discouraging Namiraj in his determination to lead an ascetic's life in preference to worldly life of sensual pleasures. Whatever burning desires of worldly life are attracting a man, all of them, one by one, are advised to be adopted by Namiraj and still wonder of all wonders is that at every stage Namiraj has been quite firm in his decision and he comes out as pure as gold. He has shown in his answers, his speedy and unfaltering march towards the ascetic life and going further and further away from worldly life. He has said, "O Brahmin ! whatever things you advise me to consider as mine are not really belonging to me. I am alone and I shall leave this world alone. I therefore desire to be lonely as loneliness is really praiseworthy." In replying this significant way, Namiraj has made his nonattachment stronger and firmer. Thus, this description of Namiraj's dialogue with Shakrendra is full of good lessons for all people in the world to admire and follow. This dialogue is presented to the reader for renouncing the worldly life and for adoption of the life of utter detachment or renunciation. To still further strengthen this matter, given below is an account as to how Namiraj realised his loneliness.
STORY OF NAMIRAJ Namiraj was the ruler of a great kingdom called Videha. He was encircled with many young attractive women as his wives. Even though he was not allured by wrong perceptions, he appeared as if he was attracted and attached to worldly pleasures. Once upon a time his body caught a killing burning fever and he felt burning sensation in the whole body, which was totaly
11

Page #15

Bhavnabodh - Ekatva Bhavana
unbearable to him. Every cell of his body began to give him terrible pain like thousands of scorpion bites. He took all medicines, adviced by expert
physicians to cure his burning sensations but all that went in vain. The more he took the medicine to cure the fever, the more rose his burning sensations and the disease increased manifold, instead of lessening. All medicines helped fever rather than working against it. None of the medicines was apathetic to this fever. Thus expert physicians failed and became helpless and the great king also was much disheartened by ever growing burning fever. All in his kingdom, were in search of such a person who would cure king's malady. One very skilful physician was found out and he suggested the application of sandalwood paste, available on Malaya mountain. Soon the sandalwood was brought in and all ladies in the harem, began to rub sandalwood on different slabs of strong stones but in doing so the bangles of their hands began to rattle and it made a very big noise. The King of Mithila, the patient, was already suffering from the pain caused by increasing burning fever and his pain increased by this noise of bangles which rattled, while the ladies wearing them were rubbing the sandalwood for applying its paste to the king's body to cure the burning fever. As he could not bear the noise of rattling bangles, he ordered the ladies to stop rubbing sandalwood. He said he could not bear the noise at all. The noise was adding to his pain. On this advice the ladies took out bangles from their hands, keeping only one bangle as a sacred sign of a married woman and then by stopping the noise, continued to rub the sandalwood on slabs of stones. Namiraj asked his queens as to whether they stopped rubbing sandalwood to which they replied "No." They said, they only took out all the bangles, keeping only one bangle on each of their two hands so that the whole noise of rattling bangles was stopped. Since they had no collection of bangles on their hands, there was no reason for occurence of the noises. Upon hearing these words from his queens, Namiraj experienced the feeling of singleness or loneliness thoroughly in every cell of his body. He felt being alone like the one bangle on each hand of his queens and his sense of mineness or possession was totally gone. Really, more things gather together, more trouble they bring; just see a group of golden bangles on every hand, created an unbearable noise by their movements, while a single on every hand created no noise.
O conscious soul! You should now realise that only in loneliness there is real paradise. The more you have, the more you suffer. Where is the need for you to keep contact with many friends, relatives and other things of this worldly life ? Leave it altogether and adopt loneliness, just see how this single bangle enjoys peace of loneliness ! How did it suffer noise when it was in contact with many bangles ! Similarly O you self, you are also like the golden bangle. So long as you level in contacts of many persons and relatives in this world, you will have to bear this unbearable hustle bustle noise of this world. Otherwise, when you aspire for loneliness and feel alone like the bangle on each hand, being alone without making any noise by its movement, you will obtain the highest acquisition of the soul, namely the singleness of your soul, and thus you will experience eternal peace. Thus, in thinking and reflecting on the beneficial effect of singleness or loneliness, king Namiraj remembered his previous birth and went to sound sleep with a firm determination to adopt ascetic life. On the next day in the morning, auspicious bands were played and the king was cured of his burning fever. Salutations to this great king Namiraj who perfectly followed his experience of being lonely or single!
"Rani Sarva Mali Suchandan Ghasi Ne Churchvaman Hati, Bujhyo Tyan kakalat Kankantano Shroti nami Bhupati;
12

Page #16

Namirajarshi
King suffering from burning
fever
Doctor preparings medicines
queens rubbings sandal wood on different slabs
52
Conversation between Namiraj and Indra
King in meditation after adopting asceticle
13

Page #17

Bhavnabodh - Anyatva Bhavana
Samvade Pan Indrathi Dradha Rahyo Ekatva Sachu Karyu, Eva E Mithileshnu Charit Aa Sampurna Atre Thayu."
Special Meaning :- While the group of queens was engaged in rubbing and applying the Malaya Mountain sandalwood paste to the king's body which was suffering from burning fever, king Namiraj got a lesson from hearing the big noise of rattling bangles by their movements on every hand of his queens and observed that peace was in loneliness. He remained steadfast in his decision to lead an ascetic's life inspite of many allurements offered by Indra in his dialogue with him and finally he realised real oneness.
Thus, this story of the life of the great ascetic Namiraj, in search of liberation, comes to an end in the Third picture of the book Bhavana Bodh.
Fourth Picture ANYATVA BHAVANA (Nothing is mine in this world)
"Na Maran Tan Rupa kanti Yuvati, Na Putra Ke Bhrat Na, Na Maran Bhruta Snehio Svajan Ke, Na Gotra Ke Gnat Na. Na Maran Dhana Dham Yauvan Dhara, E Moha Agnatvana, Re ! Re ! Jiva Vichara Emai Sada Anyatvada Bhavana.
Special Meaning :- This body is not mine; this beauty is not mine; this lustre is not mine; this wife is not mine; these sons are not mine; these brothers are not mine; these servants are not mine; these friends are not mine; these relatives are not mine; this race is not mine; this community is not mine; these riches are not mine; this palace is not mine, this youth is not mine, and this land is not mine - all the infatuations of mineness result only from my ignorance; (of not knowing the fact that I am an imperishable soul not the embodiment) O you living soul! For accomplishment of liberation, always think in this way that whatever you call yours except your real self is not really yours, it is totally different from your self. Such constant feeling of everything in this worldly life as quite separate or different from your self is called Anyatva Bhavana.
With a view to abandon the feeling of mineness and to strengthen and increase the feeling of non-attachment, given below is the life story of the king of kings Bharat worth deep reflection.
KING OF KINGS BHARATESHWAR Example : One in whose stable were beautiful, clever and fast running horses spectacularly in great number and in whose stable of elephants many kinds of pride elephants were enjoying pleasing life, one in whose harem very young, delicate and attractive wives in thousands were dancing to his tune, in whose possession Laxmi-the goddess of wealth known as daughter of the ocean and who is by nature unstable had remained totally stable, one whose commands were obeyed by gods and goddesses with great respect; one for whose pleasure highly tasteful foods of various agreeable kinds were getting ready every minute; one for whose pleasure of hearing, many professional and sweet voiced dancers were ready to sing melodious songs, one for whose pleasure of sight many types of plays and instruments of fun and laughter were

Page #18

King of kings Bharateshwar
ready; one whose fame as a victorious king had spread far and wide like wind in the skies; one whose enemies had no occasion to sleep with ease or without fear of attack or in other words the wives of whose enemies were constantly shedding tears; one against whom none dared to fight as an enemy but none dared to even point any finger against, one in whose bidding many wise advisers were seeking his favour; one whose bodily form, beauty and lustre were mind absorbing, one in whose body valourous might, prowess, power and highly victorious actions were clearly visible, one for whose pleasure resorts were maintained with fragrant gardens, parks and vernal woods, one who had a number of equally valourous and bright sons; one to take up whose commands were ready lacs of servants in all directions, one who wherever went was adored with high praises and plates of flowers of gold and emeralds, one to touch whose auspicious lotus like feet were anxious person's like Indra, the Lord of Gods, one in whose armoury, the great famed Divya chakra-the divine wheel (a sharp circularly rotating missile of God) had emerged, one in whose kingdom the lamp of empire was unfailingly burning bright; one on whose head the crown of the victory over six great continents was shining with lustre and brightness. In short whose army, whose cities, whose prowess and majesty and whose enjoyments knew no bounds from worldly point of view-such Shrimad Raj Rajeshwar (king of all kings) Bharat adorned with beautiful apparels and ornaments was sitting on his royal throne in his grand palace of mirror - Adarsh Bhavan. All entrances to the palace in all directions were open, incense spices of many fragrant kinds were burning and their aroma filled the place all around, all sort of fragrance giving objects were spreading fine fragrance all around, various kinds of melodious musical instruments were playing around, cool, mild and fragrant winds were blowing all around. In that palace, the great king of kings Shriman Bharat while observing his adorned ornaments achieved unprecedented enlightenment of the soul.
A ring from one of the fingers of his hand fell out and Bharat's attention was drawn to it and the finger without the ring seemed quite ugly to him. As compared with other nine fingers adorned with beautiful rings, this finger without the ring drew Bharat to reflective thinking. He pondered why should this finger appear ugly? And with this thinking he realised that the finger without the ring was the cause of it appearing bereft of beauty. To substantiate his this thinking, he took out the ring from another finger and the second finger appeared to have lost its beauty like the previous finger; then he took out the ring from his third finger. This substantiated his thinking still more. Then he took out the ring from his fourth finger, and it also appeared just like previous finger. Thus he took out the rings from the rest of his fingers one by one and all of them without rings appeared having lost their beauty. As a result, this great king of kings said with a deep impressive feeling of separateness as under :
Oh ! how strange it is that from raw gold, extracted from the earth this beautiful golden ring was skilfully prepared and this ring gave beauty to my finger and when this ring fell out from my finger, it lost its beauty and looked lonely and ugly, quite unpleasing one. Then is it not proved that the ugliness of my finger was due to its losing the ring ? If there would have been ring on my finger I would have not seen this finger as ugly; by wearing this ring my finger gets beauty and by that finger my hand gets beauty and with that hand, my body looks beautiful. Then whose beauty I should admit? Much wonder ! My so called fascinating beauty is shining by my colourful dress and ornaments of gold and diamonds and this lustre is the cause of beautiful appearance of this skin, and this skin is covering the interior of the body which would otherwise appear quite ugly. Oh what a wonder it is ? The body which I believe as mine, looks beautiful due to skin
15

Page #19

Bhavnabodh - Anyatva Bhavana
covering, the skin gains beauty due to lustre and the lustre draws its beauty from dress and ornaments. Then does it not follow that my body bereft of its
skin has no beauty of its own ? Then is my body a mere structure of blood, marrow and bones ? And I take this structure as mine. What a mistaken thinking! What an illusion of my understanding ! And what a strangness it is ! I look beautiful by only external things, skin etc. Why should I call my body as mine, when it looks beautiful only by skin and the rest it wears? If I go on calling it mine, ultimately it is going to give me pain and lead me to nothing. One day my soul will be separated from this body. There is no doubt that when my soul will depart from this body to be born into another body, this body which I hug as mine, will remain here only. If at that time, this body will cease to be mine, then to call it mine is sheer folly; why should I have the sense of mineness in that which is really quite different from my soul? My soul alone is mine. Thus I and my soul are one; the rest are all externals, and sooner I know them, better it is for me. If my body which I call mine, does not remain mine, why should I be attached to such a body? It is better to be clear about the fact that when the body is not mine, then I am quite separate from it. I should think, determine and act accordingly as per this discrimination.
This whole world is full of indefinite number of things and objects or substances; I love my body more than any or all things of this world and if that body not behave as mine what else in this world is likely to behave as mine ? Oh, I was deluded very much, I fell down in wrong attribution namely calling my body as mine which is not really mine; neither these young damsels, nor my obedient sons, nor that incalculable wealth nor that great kingdom of six continents are really mine. Nothing of it is mine. No part of my real being has anything to do with these external things, objects or persons. My body, with whose help, I enjoy all these things or objects, has not behaved as mine, then how can I call other things as mine ? None of my relatives, sons, family members, friends etc.. are likely to remain as mine. I do not want this false sense of calling body and other things as mine. I am not theirs in as much as they are really not mine at all. In the end, all my worldly life and its efforts to gain all externals are in vain. In the end, I and they are bound to be separated for ever. This is the most sorrowful state of things and sooner I realise it, it is better. Ultimately whatever sins I committed to have these externals as mine, my soul alone will have to bear the fruits of these sinful actions. None will come to share this painful result. No ignorance is greater than believing things as mine which are not really mine. With this ignorance, I became the enemy of my own self or soul and I made my soul the sufferer of all my evil deeds in lower births. This is really ignorance, indiscrimination and delusion. I am regarded as one of the Treshath Shalaka Purush - sixty three excellent personages and still i did not realise this simple truth that my soul alone is mine and nothing else. It is unwise to go on this infatuation and life of ignorance. I now have no attachment and feeling of mineness to these sons, wives, royal prowess and conveyances etc.
This clear picture of non-attachment was so firmly fixed in the mind of Bharat, the greatest of all kings, that the dark spell of ignorance got dispelled and he achieved purest meditation. That very moment all the rest of his bondages were burnt and he was enlightened with Keval Gyan - perfect knowledge, great divine and shining even more than thousands of sun rays. Immediately at the same time he adopted ascetic life and he was endowed with saintly dress by Shashan Devi and thereafter that great renouncer became free from all attachment, and became all knowing, all seeing and freed himself from Chaturgati - all four states of soul after
16

Page #20

King of Kings Bharat
Thousands of young attractive wives
Brave and bright sons
King of six continents
79
Copenen
धनदौलत
The ring fell down from Bharat's hand in Adarsh Bhavana
Professional sweet voiced dancers
leadiag him to reflective thinking ari enlightened him with Kevalgyan
Pulling
his own hair to become
an
ascetic
Thousands of horses
and elephants
Bharat became kevalgyani
17

Page #21

Bhavnabodh - Anyatva Bhavana
death, Chovish Dandak - punitive sufferings of twenty four different kinds and all sorts of internal, external and cosmic miseries. He detached himself from
all transient worldly enjoyments, he shed off considerations of love and hate and he became the highest soul worthy of constant worship by all spiritual aspirants.
Lesson :- Thus the greatest of all kings Bharat, who was the Lord of all six continents, like the God of all Gods, the enjoyer of unlimited wealth, the master of a very long life and possessor of many invaluable jewels, by raising in him this Anyatva Bhavana, the sense of soul's separateness from all that is called mine in worldly life, became pure non-attached soul, in that palace called Adarash Bhavan.
Really the life of King Bharat, worthy of deep reflection, gives a clear picture of the misery and sorrow of the worldly life and subsequently shows high teachings and means of right knowledge. Say! What was wanting in his worldly life? Neither there was scarcity of beautiful young women nor there was scarcity of royal prowess, neither there was scarcity of victorious achievements and excellencies nor there was scarcity of sons and family members, neither there was scarcity of beauty and lustre, nor there was scarcity of success and fame.
We again remember the above possessions of king Bharat with a view to impress upon all readers that by right discrimination, he realised the nature of basic difference between the soul and body with all its external accompaniments and knowing it well, he immediately left worldly life as a serpent leaves its outer skin and proved the falsity of the sense of mineness which binds all souls to this worldly life. We can see steadfastness of non-attachment, the sense of total detachment and the development of infinite power of the self in this life of great yogeshwar Bharat.
Out of one hundred sons of Bharat's father, ninetynine sons were already practising for self-realisation; this hundredth son Bharat sought the same self-realisation. Bharat's father also sought the same self-realisation as Bharat and it is said that whoever kings followed on Bharat's throne, realised the self-realisation in the same Adarsh Bhavan. The whole band of these spiritually realised souls help us to enter the real sense of singleness by full realisation of basic fundamental difference of nature between the soul and the entire externals. All praise and salutations to these great souls including Bharat !
Dekhi Angali Aap Ek Adavi, Vairagya Vege Gaya, Chhanndi Raj Samajane Bharatji Kaivalyagyani Thaya; Chothu Chitra Pavitra Eja Charite, Pamyu Ahin Purnata,
Gyaninan Mana Teha Ranjan Karo, Vairagya Bhave Yatha.
Special Meaning - Finding his one finger ugly because of the ring that fell out of it, one who entered the life of utter non-attachment, one who left off his royal grandeur and wealth and as an ascetic achieved perfect self-realisation. Depicting the life of such a great King Bharat this fourth picture comes to an end here. Let us all please the enlightened souls by such correct description of the spirit of utter non-attachment which is the core of an ascetic life.
Thus the example of Lord Bharat and the lesson to be learnt from it, comes to an end in the fourth chapter of the first presentation of this book Bhavana Bodh.

Page #22

Ashuchi Bhavana-Chakravarti Sanatkumar
Fifth Picture ASHUCHI BHAVANA
(Contemplation of Impurity) Khan Mutra Ne Malani Roga Jaranu Nivasanu Dham;
Kaya Evi Ganine, Mana Tyajine Kar Sarthak Aam. Special Meaning - O Conscious soul ! Consider this living body as a mine of refuge and urine, as an abode of disease and old age and so leave aside the false sense of pride for such a body, make it successful by realising the self as Sanat Kumar did.
The life story of Bhagawan Sanat Kumar will be commenced here to explain and establish the soul saving aspiration that body is impure and the soul is only pure.
SANATKUMAR CHAKRAVARTI Example :- Like the great King Bharat whose royal grandeur and acquisitions were described in the life of Bharat, King Sanat Kumar, sovereign ruler had all those wealth and fame with him. His bodily beauty and form were matchless. Once in a religious assembly, Gods in heaven praised the beauty of the body of Sanat Kumar. Some two deities could not agree to this praise and so to verify the appropriateness of this praise, they went as Brahmins to the interior of the palatial residence of King Sanat Kumar. At that time his body was anointed with fragrant ointments and he wore a short dhoti and he was sitting for a good bath. The two Brahmins saw his smiling and enticing face, golden coloured skin of his body and lustre similar to that of the moon and they were very much pleased and they nodded their heads in agreement of the praise of beauty and form of Sanat Kumar. Seeing this, Sanat Kumar asked them to tell him the reason of their nodding; to which the two deities replied, "We were much desirous of observing your beautiful form of body and golden skin colour. Wherever we went we heard the praises of your bodily beauty and colour. Today we saw them and we are quite satisfied that the praise was quite correct and so we were pleased and we nodded our heads to show the correctness of the praises of your bodily form and beauty which we heard wherever we went. Really your form and beauty go beyond all praises about them; they are far more than expressed by the people in their praises." Sanat Kumar being highly influenced by the praise of his beauty and form expressed in pride that though they had seen his beauty and form at that time was good but they would be more satisfied and pleased when they see him well dressed and decked with proper ornaments seated on the throne in the royal assembly as compared with what they saw of him presently while he was preparing only for a good bath; he added that they would be really surprised and wonderstruck if they see his bodily beauty and lustre in the assembly which would be worth admiring in fact. To this, the deities said, "Well then we will surely come to your royal assembly and see you as you have asked us to do so." Saying this, the deities went away.
Then Sanat Kumar put on an excellent matching dress and wore very costly ornaments befitting his royal status and making his body more and more attractive and lustrous, came to the royal assembly and sat on his throne. He was surrounded by his able advisers, brave warriors, learned men and other members of the royal assembly, seated in their statuswise seats and Sanat Kumar was shining in his beauty by attendants spreading fragrance to please him and all were addressing praises to him. At that time the same two deities arrived in the
19

Page #23

Bhavnabodh - Ashuchi Bhavana
same guise as Brahmins and they nodded their heads seeing Sanat Kumar quite differently than what they did when they saw him while getting ready for
good bath. Quite surprised at this queer nod, Sanat Kumar asked, "O Brahmins ! What is the reason for nodding in such a different way ?" The deities by their Avadhigyan (Special high knowledge) replied: "O King Sanat Kumar ! There is a vast difference like that between sky and earth, between your beauty and luster that we observed when you were about to take bath and that we see now when you are seated with all the pomp and glory on your throne in this royal assembly." Sanat Kumar asked for the clear meaning of their nodding. To which the deities replied as under :
"O King of Kings! When we first saw you at the time of your getting ready for a good bath, your body was like nector, and when we see you now it is like poison. So when we saw you first, we nodded our heads in appreciation and when we saw you here, we nodded expressing sorrow at your poison like body. If you want to verify the truth of what we say, you can now spit the bettle leaf in your mouth at some place and soon a fly will sit on it and it will die." Accordingly Sanat Kumar examined and found that the statement of the deities was true. It was the mixing of his past life's misdeeds or sins with his sense of pride of present bodily form that made this whole body turn into poison. Observing this result of his body, a spirit of utter disgust at this bodily beauty and lustre developed in his mind and a strong feeling of non-attachment to his body and worldly life connected with it, grew strong. He realised that his worldly life was worthy of abandonment and similar impurity resides in the bodies of his wives and those of other relatives and friends. Therefore all pride about one's living body is no good; pride about it is only infatuation and a delusion. So saying he left his worldly life of a sovereign ruler of six continents and started his journey for self-realisation. When he was moving as a saint, he caught leprosy, a deadly disease. To confirm his determination to work for self-realisation with a spirit of total non-attachment, one deity came to him in the guise of an expert physician and said to Sanat Kumar that his body was suffering from deadly disease and that he was an expert royal physician who would cure his deadly disease immediately if Sanat Kumar wanted it. To this the saintly Sanat Kumar replied: "O you physician ! The disease in the form of bondages of a living being is deadlier than this deadly disease, if you are capable of curing me from the bondages, please cure me off it and oblige. In case you are unable to cure me of my bondages, leave my deadly disease alone." To this the deity replied, "I cannot cure you off your disease in the form of your bondage." Hearing this Sanat Kumar, using his atmost spiritual acquisitions, took his spittle with his finger and applied it on his deadly disease and instantaneously his deadly disease got cured and his body regained its previous health. Seeing this miracle, the deity disclosed his real form and showering respectful praises, bowed to Sanat Kumar and returned to his place.
Lesson - The body in which the deadly disease like leprosy grows, the body which has tendency of instantaneously perishing; in every cell of the body there reside diseases and as the body has three and a half crores of cells, naturally it is the storehouse of incalculable diseases and this is clearly proved by discerning knowledge. By excessive deficient food and other nutrients, these diseases appear in slight or acute form in the body which is composed of refuge, urine, filthy substances, bones, flesh, puss and marrow and it looks beautiful or good to look at only by its covering of the skin. To be attracted to such a body or to take pride in its form and lustre is really foolishness. It is that body, in which Sanat Kumar took pride but that body could not tolerate it showed the growth of leprosy in it. O lowly human being! Why should one
20

Page #24

Sanatkumar Chakravarti
VAAVVA
VARA
KA
Brahmins showing disappointment in King's assembly
Brahmins pleased by seeing
the king's bodily beauty
Sanatkumar moving as a saint
Deities in the form of physician
tested his determination

Page #25

Bhavanabodh - Nivrutti Bodh
take pride in such a body? Pride in such a body is not appreciable at all.
Inspite of the above statement about the living body, one has to admit that
human body is the best of all bodies of living beings because only with the help of the human body, self-realisation or liberation can be achieved; to be sure about this utility of a human body, here is only a passing reference.
When good deeds of our soul are fructified, we obtain the human body. Man is not to be understood as the master of two hands, two feet, two eyes, two ears, one mouth, two lips, one nose; he is to be understood differently. If we do not realise the significance of our having a human body then how to distinguish between a man and a monkey ? Both possess the parts of a living body as described above. Why cannot we call a monkey a man ? A monkey has a long tail in addition to the parts of a human body described above. But not that way, significance of a human body is that in the mind of a human being discriminative understanding arises and a man is worthy to be called a man only when he has discriminative understanding. Without such understanding, a man is to be called only as a two legged animal, Intelligent persons always emphasize this mysterious meaning of human life. By the rise of discriminative understanding, one enters the royal road to liberation and entrance to that royal road proves the superiority of human life over the life of all other living being. Still it is always desirable to constantly realise that our human body, like all bodies of other living beings is totally impure and impurity is in its nature. Only soul or self is really pure.
Here ends the example and lesson of the life of Sanat Kumar for teaching the soul saving contemplation of impurity of human living body-Ashuchi Bhavana
in the fifth picture of first Presentation, in the book of Bhavana Bodh.
Internal Presentation : Sixth Picture
NIVRUTTI BODH (Preaching of Retirement From Worldly Matters ) "Ananta Saukhya Nama Dukkha Tyan Rahi Na Mitrata ! Ananta Dukkha Nama Saukhya Prem Tyan Vichitrata !!
Ughad Nyaya Netra Ne Nihala Re ! Nihala Tun !
Nivrutti Shigrameva Dhari Te Pravrutti Bala Tun." Special Meaning :- How strange it is that you do not love and like the good life and self knowledge as real friends wherein rise the current or waves of purely infinite happiness only because there are nominal troubles and pains which occur in such achievements! While you fully love and like nominal pleasure of the world though they are totally linked with unending pains and miseries ! O conscious soul ! Better open your eyes of justice and see clearly ! See clearly !! Follow this clear vision, adopt quickly that is take up the life of non-attachment or renunciation and burn out the activity of your sensual pleasures !
Given below is the explicit description of the life story of the great youthful prince Mrugaputra, free from attachment and which is worthy of serious consideration by all spiritual aspirants and which is capable of establishing the holy maha Nivrutti or great non-attachment. One can see therein as to how misery is regarded as happiness and happiness is regarded as misery. This will be proved by the utterances of that great youth Mrugaputra.
22

Page #26

Mrugaputra
MRUGAPUTRA Example :- There was a beautiful city named Sugriva, which was bedecked with various kinds of gardens and parks full of beautiful trees. On the throne of this city was a ruler named Balbhadra whose sweet speaking chief queen's name was Mruga and this couple gave birth to a prince called Balashri, who in his youth was well known as Mrugaputra-son of Mruga. This Mrugaputra was most dear and a source of joy and happiness to his parents. Mrugaputra, though a prince and living worldly life, was behaving as a great ascetic - Samyati, and so he was worthy of being regarded as Damishavar - the head of all ascetics.
Mrugaputra was enjoying divine pleasure with his affectionate wife in his grand palace just as deities enjoy in heaven. He was always cheerful, spreading joy and mirth around him. The floor of the palace was decorated with all sorts of jewels and diamonds. One day prince Mrugaputra was sitting in a balcony of his palace from where he could clearly observe the whole city Sugriva. He caught sight of a square, a meeting place of four royal roads and therein, the place where three roads met, attracted his sight and there he saw a quite saint, who has the abode of great penance, strict discipline, strong restraint, noble character and highest virtues. Mrugaputra fixed his sight on this great saint and the more he gazed at him from a distance, the more he was attracted towards him and he looked at him minutely.
After some time spent in gazing at this great saint, he said, "I know that I have seen before somewhere an appearance very similar to this saint," and saying these words he became one with the life of this saint. The layer of illusion of his soul disappeared and he achieved quietness. The knowledge of his previous births shone in him and as a result Mrugaputra, enjoyer of royal riches, remembered his ascetic life of his previous birth and immediately became non-attached to his present worldly life; and lost all interest in sensual pleasures and got attached to the life of strict ascetic discipline. He approached his parents and said to them as under :
"I had heard of five great and difficult vows in my previous birth; I had also, at that time, heard of infinite miseries of hell; I had also heard of similar miseries accompanying animal life. I feel much disturbed by such infinite miseries and I have decided to put an end to all these miseries. O my respected elders! Please permit me to adopt those five great vows to enable me to cross over this worldly ocean."
Hearing these words of quietude from their son, the parents exhorted him to enjoy worldly life in full measure. Feeling sorry at this invitation, Mrugaputra says, "O my mother ! and O my father! I have already enjoyed the pleasures you exhort me to enjoy and I find these pleasures as poisonous fruits - the fruits of kimpak tree. These enjoyments result in bitter pain and they are always the causes of miseries. This body is transient and totally impure; it has originated from impurity and it is the temporary abode of the soul and it is the source of infinite pain and unhappiness; it is the store of diseases, old age and afflictions. Why should I feel attracted to such a body? There is no rule about it as to whether one will have to leave it in his childhood, youth or old age. Such a body is like drop of the foam of water. How can one have affection on such a body! By obtaining such human body, one has to suffer disease like lucoderma, fever, leprosy etc. and then there comes oldage and death. How can I love such a body?"
This worldly life is full of miseries such as birth, old age, disease and death. One has to compulsorily leave this body in sorrowful state one day upon death leaving all land, farms, house, wealth, family, sons and daughters, wife, brothers and all such worldly relations. Just as
23

Page #27

Bhavnabodh - Nivrutti Bodh
eating the fruit of a poisonous tree is not giving any pleasure or happiness, similarly the result of enjoying worldly pleasures is also not yielding any joy or
happiness. Just as a traveller in a long journey would suffer hunger and thirst if he does not arrange to take with him food and water, one while departing from this life for adoption of another birth, would experience much pain by not following a soul-saving religion, he may again suffer the cycles of birth, oldage and death. Thus when a traveller makes his long journey light and enjoyable when he takes wholesome food and water and does not experience hunger and thirst; similarly a follower of soul-saving religion meets with happiness on his journey from this life to the other one; he might lighten his burden of bad deeds, he may have to answer for very few deeds he was forced to engage in, while leading the life of strict religious discipline; he would be free from experiencing the painful results of bad deeds which he has refrained from doing. O you, my respected elders ! Just as a householder, when his house is ablaze, takes up his valuables with him and leaves the house and his old tattered clothes and belongings to their fate, I shall save my precious soul from this burning worldly life, leaving oldage and death like old tattered clothers as soon as you permit me to do so."
Hearing these words of Mrugaputra, his parents were stricken with deep sorrow and they addressed; - "O you son! What are you saying? It is very difficult to follow the ascetic's discipline. The ascetic has to adopt forgiveness and many good saintly qualities and discipline, not only he has to adopt them but also he has to maintain them through thick and thin; he has to behave very carefully for keeping these noble qualities firm in his behaviour; the ascetic has to adopt equanimity of mind towards friend and foe; he has to treat equally, his soul and those of other living beings or in other words he has to adopt equable attitude to all living beings on earth. This is called Pranatipat Virati, the first vow and it is difficult to observe it throughout the rest of life. In second very difficult vow, the ascetic has to carefully talk and vigilantly keep away from falsehood, and he has to talk only that which is beneficial to the hearer. The third vow which is also difficult to be adopted is not taking anything which is not properly given to him such as not taking even a small stick of grass for cleaning his teeth unless given to him, to beg and accept food that is pure, innocent, harmless and fleshless only. The fourth vow is to abandon all the sensual pleasures and profligate life and to adopt strict celibacy. The fifth vow of non-possessiveness is still more difficult to adopt for an ascetic than the previous four vows and that is abandonment of all wealth, servants, avoidance of all possessions, of all sense of mineness, renunciation of all worldly purposive actions. Besides these five vows, the ascetic has to abstain from eating at night, has not to keep ghee (clarified butter) and such other eatables overnight - all this is very difficult."
"O son ! you should know what an ascetic life is ! Is there anything more troublesome than observing an ascetic life? It is to suffer troubles and pangs of hunger and thirst, to bear extreme cold and heat with a bare body; to bear the stings of bugs and mosquitoes, to suffer the listening of abusive words, to suffer crudities of the Upashraya or halting places in the ascetic's movements from place to place, to suffer the bites of shrubs and brambles, to suffer the evil effects of dirt collected on the ascetic's body due to non-bathing. O son I know it for certain that such a life is very difficult to lead. To suffer someone's hurt or killing is very difficult to endure, the troubles from being shackled are difficult to obviate, even to beg for food from anybody, is very difficult and still more difficult is when the ascetic begs for food and does not receive from anybody. Also plucking of own hair of the head which is one of the ascetic's discipline is a very painful process and very unbearable and capable of tearing tha heart of a cowardly man. You
24

Page #28

Mrugaputra
Mrugaputra enjoying
divine pleasures
Mrugaputra watching saint
from his balcony
sutra attaining highest * state of liberation
Asking parent's permission
to become a saint
Mrugaputra leading for
an ascetic life

Page #29

Bhavnabodh - Nivrutti Bodh
think about as to how difficult it is to observe the vow of celibacy which is like a sharp dreadful weapon to destroy bondages. Really all these vows are very
difficult to observe by an impatient soul. Dear son ! You are quite fit to enjoy happiness. Your youthful body is worthy of taking pure bath in the most beautiful way. Loving son ! Certainly you are not capable of observing an ascetic life in which there is no rest till there is life in you. The great collection of virtues of an ascetic is very heavy like iron. It is very very difficult to bear the burden of restraints. As next to impossible it is to go on the opposite shore of akashganga, so difficult it is to observe restraint in the youthful life. As it is difficult to go opposite to the direction of natural flow of water, so difficult it is to observe restraint in youthful life. As it is difficult to swim the ocean by one's hands alone, so difficult it is to swim the ocean of good qualities in useful life. As the mouthful of sand is tasteless so also an ascetic life is tasteless. As difficult it is to walk on the edge of sword, so difficult it is to practise penance. Such as a serpent moves lonely with sole attention so in the life of an ascetic, one has to move with sole attention of soul for preservance of Irya Samiti which is equally difficult
O dear son ! As difficult it is to chew iron barley, so difficult it is to observe a life of restraints. As difficult it is to drink the flame of fire, so difficult it is to adopt an ascetic life in the prime of youth. It is difficult for a cowardly person possessing weak body to adopt and maintain the strict discipline of an ascetic. As you cannot weigh the Meru Mountain in a scale so it is next to impossible to observe the ascetic discipline of Das Lakshan Dharma - ten sorts of spiritual virtues with firmness and doubtlessness. As difficult it is to swim the ocean namely Swayambhu Raman by one's arms, so difficult it is to swim the ocean of quiet repose for one whose mind has not yet achieved a quiet repose.
O son ! You should enjoy all five sorts of sense pleasures viz., hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch relating to human form and then after getting full satisfaction in them, you observe religious discipline in oldage."
Hearing this advice of his parents for enjoying sensual pleasure in youth and follow religious ascetic discipline in oldage, Mrugaputra replied to parents as under:
"It is not at all difficult to maintain ascetic discipline for one who has no attraction for sensual life. This soul has suffered and gone through bodily and mental tortures innumerable times. This soul has suffered much by way of going through extremely painful and heart rending experiences. Birth, oldage and death which are the repositories of fear and this soul has gone through all these experiences while moving from one worldly life to another. O elders! This soul has suffered the heat infinitely more intense than that of burning fire while living in hell, similarly it has gone through cold infinitely more intense than the extreme cold known on the earth. It has suffered extreme pain while crying with tied legs above and head down in the midst to firecely moving blazing fire; It has been roasted many times in the extreme heat of burnt sand of Kadamb river - the sand that is found in the desert of Marudesh.
This soul has been tossed and turned many times in the frying pans as if it was to be cooked. The denizens of hell had bound my hand and foot with legs up and head down to make me suffer the fruits of my evil deeds; I was torn into two pieces by a sharp saw with no friend nearby to save me from such tortures. They gave me much pain by tying me to a Shalmali tree full of sharp piercing brambles. They tied me many a time and pulled me hither and thither, causing me extreme pain. I was being pressed like a sugarcane many times and all this | suffered as the fruits of my evil deeds. In hell one denizen by name Samnama turned me in the
26

Page #30

Mrugaputra's conversation with parents
form of a dog, the other denizen by name Shabalnama threw me on ground, tore me like a tatter, cut me like a tree. At that time I was very much tossing about with restlessness.
I was torn into pieces by terrific denizens of hell by a deadly sword, by a spear and by such other weapons. There was no end to my suffering due to such tearing to pieces on my birth in hell as a result of my bad deeds. I was yoked like an old animal-Yakking horse to bear and draw fiercely burning chariots. I was roasted like a dead buffalo in the fire and suffered pain in the charred body. I was crying when many vultures pierced my body with their bikes like pincers to eat my flesh. When I ran to satisfy my thirst, I got water of Vaitarani river as painful as cuts of sharp razor and suffered much thereby. I had fallen into Asipatravan - a place in hell which is extremely hot, where the leaves of trees which are sharp edged pierced my body innumerable times. My body was cut into pieces by instruments like Mudgar, Trishul, Mushal, Gada - a deadly mace and other sharp weapons. While suffering this way, I had no place of shelter or relief. I was lynched many a times like cutting of a cloth by sharp razors, knives and scissors. I was cut into small pieces. I was pierced from cross directions. My skin was peeled off with creaking sound. In this way I suffered endless pain.
I was caught like a deer many times. Denizens of hell gave me pain innumerable times by catching me in a net in my form of an aligator. I was caught in a net and tortured much in my form of a falcon. I was killed after my being hooked in a net. I was powdered into pieces like the powdering of a tree. I was pressed as iron-smith presses the iron by stroke of a hammer. I was made to drink the hot liquid of copper, iron and lead, and I was offered my own flesh to eat as I may have liked flesh eating in some of previous births. I was heavily punished for my liking of drinking wine in some of my previous births.
In my hellish life, I suffered in this way the extreme infliction to the body shivering with great fear, great pain and great sorrow. The pains suffered are extremely intense, dreadful and of very long duration and which are terrifying even on listening. The suffering in the hell was many more times intense as compared to what is seen on this earth in human form. I have undergone all such suffering in all the past births. Even not for a moment, peace was experienced there."
Thus Mrugaputra addressed his parents with a strong aptitude of renunciation, describing his sufferings of his various previous births. By way of reply, his parents said as under :
"O son ! If you have strongly determined to become an ascetic, then get initiated to asceticism. But in your ascetic life, who will act as a physician when you suffer from a disease ? Who will relieve you off your pains ? It is very difficult to lead an ascetic's life without doctors or physicians." To this, Mrugaputra replied; "You are right, but you should also think about birds and animals like deer in this world who are alone and have none to cure them off their diseases.
Just as a deer moves in a jungle or a forest so will I move in my forest of saintly life and I shall love and observe seventeen kinds of pure restraints. I shall practise twelve kinds of natural penances and move as an observer like a deer." He again repeated, "When a deer catches a disease in the forest, then who acts as a physician to cure it? Who is nearby to help the ailing deer? Who gives it needed medical care ? Who inquires about its joy, peace and happiness? Who brings to it food and water ? Just as such a deer, after getting freed from its ailments, goes to a lake in the forest, and eating grass and drinking water of the lake, starts moving as before, so will I behave in my ascetic life. Just as the deer bears patiently all adventitious
27

Page #31

Bhavnabodh - Nivrutti Bodh
diseases, ailments and other trouble so I will patiently endure and suffer whatever falls to my lot while moving alone as an ascetic. My life will be used to
all sorts of restraints. As the deer continuously moves having no stable place as its abode, so I shall keep moving from place to place with no permanent abode anywhere. Thus I shall be free as a deer in a forest.I shall always avoid subjects, prohibited by my religion. Just as the deer inspects what grass and water are beneficial to it so I shall select food and water, which my religion advices me to take and thus I shall easily bear the burden of hardness of ascetic life. I shall never blame the householder for offering me disagreeable food nor shall I speak ill of him and such restraint I shall observe."
"Evam Putta Jahasukham - O Son ! Act as you feel happy !" Thus the parents permitted Mrugaputra to get initiated to ascetic living. Thus obtaining parent's permission, Mrugaputra left his worldly life as a cobra serpent leaves its skin and paid attention to the rules of his new ascetic life. He adopted a life of strict restraints and left forever gold, wealth, wife, friend, son, community and all relatives and companions, just as one shakes a cloth to throw away dust from it, Mrugaputra cleared himself of all attachments and left for getting himself initiated to the new ascetic life. He adopted five holy great vows; he became well adorned with five Samitis. He also adopted three Gupties (Trigupti). He also accepted twelve penances - external and internal (Dwadash Tapa). He cast aside all sense of mineness; he became egoless, got freedom from contacts of women etc.. He began to behave with equanimity towards all living souls. He became unaffected by situations of getting food and water or going without it: of facing happiness or sorrow; of facing life or death, of hearing praises or abuses, of getting honour or dishonour. He became unattached to all excellences, all tastes and all sorts of happiness that one takes pride in having them. He quietly got freed from mental, vocal and bodily punishments. He got freed from four Kashayas. He became unattached to three Shalyas i.e. Maya Shalya, Nidan Shalya and Mithyatva Shalya. He became free from seven types of great fear. He set aside laughter and worry. He became bereft of Nidan. He got freed from the bindings of attachment and hatred. In short, he got freed from all desires; freed from all kinds of enjoyments. He became equanimous if one would cut him with a saw or one would apply sandalwood ointment on his body. To him all these were equal. He closed all doors of entry of sins. He became praiseworthy by leading ascetic life of religious discipline with a pure heart. He solely dedicated himself to the essence of Lord Jinendra's principles. He adorned himself with the excellency of twenty five aspirations - five for each Mahavrata (great vows) flawlessly. Thus passing away many years of his ascetic life that great enlightened prince Mrugaputra, in the end, observing fast for continuously one month, attained highest state of liberation.
Lesson - The life story of Mrugaputra is given here to strengthen the aspiration of getting free from worldly life as one of the tweleve soul saving contemplation, determined by great philosophers with solid proof. By discriminative intelligence one can easily see that wandering in worldly cycles of birth and death, brings one infinite pain and misery and to stop this suffering, Mrugaputra the enlightened young great ascetic, has described to his parents all sorts of tortures and torments of hell from which there is no moment of joy or peace and all this inspires one to adopt a life of renunciation and total non-attachment. The inconvenience and privations to be suffered in ascetic life, which amount to external unhappiness, are regarded as total unhappiness; and the unbearable suffering endlessly visiting worldly life are regarded as happiness from quite external physical considerations. How strange delusion is this? The difficulties, one has to face while leading an ascetic life, are quite nominal or nothing as
28

Page #32

Asrava Bhavana-Kundarik
compared with hellish life of a worldly man. The difficulties or pain to be undergone by an ascetic for developing a noble character, should not be regarded as pain or suffering at all; on the contrary they are to be taken as opportunities for a better life of self realization. Thus the little pain of ascetic strictness is really a doorway to permanent happiness and bliss, while the transient sensual pleasures, ending in deadly diseases are to be regarded as unpleasant road to absolve unhappiness and misery. From superficial external sight what appears as joy and happiness, is really unhappiness and full of pain and suffering. It is the cause of great unhappiness. This is proved beyond doubt by the dialogue of Mrugaputra with his parents. The non-attachment and a spirit of renunciation, shown by Mrugaputra, is described here to show what is true happiness. One who behaves like Mrugaputra reaches the highest state of liberation as did Mrugaputra. Such a saint realises the self which is the highest success of human life. This sense of mineness, with which the worldly life is led by all worldly persons is the cause of unending unhappiness and knowing this fully well, the great philosophers like Mrugaputra practise the ascetic life full of correct insight, right knowledge and consequent right behaviour or action. It is such life only that will bring permanent happiness and peace to a living being.
The excellent life of great ascetic Mrugaputra, points to the renunciation of cyclic worldly living and all its accompaniments and adoption of a good enlightened ascetic life for realising the highest aim of human life namely self realization or liberation. Here comes to an end the life story of Mrugaputra. Philosophers always think of retirement from worldly life of cyclic rotation and the path of sin and sorrow.
The life story of Mrugaputra completes the sixth picture i.e. Sansar Bhavana
or the correct assessment of worldly life as a part of internal sight.
Seventh Picture
ASRAVA BHAVANA
(Contemplation of incoming Elements) Twelve Avirati, Sixteen Kashayas, Nine Nokashayas, Five Mithyatva and fifteen Yoga, all these are totalling fifty seven entrances for incoming of sin.
KUNDARIK Example : Two brothers named Pundarik and Kundarik were ruling quite well on the throne of the kingdom of vast Pundarikini city situated in Mahavideha continent. Once a great enlightened monk, while moving from place to place arrived there. Hearing his teachings, advising non-attachment, Kundarik got initiated to a life of non-attachment and then returning home entrusting his duties of a ruler to his brother Pundarik, he adopted an ascetic life. Eating all sorts of food, tasty or tasteless after some time, he fell ill and failed in ascetic discipline. He returned to Ashokwadi, an orchard in Pundarikini city, and hung his broom of wool and mouth bandage, the signs of a Jain ascetic and halting there, began constantly to brood as to whether his brother Pundarik would willingly return to him his status as a ruler of Pundarikini kingdom. The keeper of Ashokwadi recognised Kundarik as Pundarik's brother and going to Pundarik, he said, "Your brother Kundarik is ailing in Ashokwadi and he is much worried about regaining his status as your co-ruler of the kingdom." Pundarik, hearing this, came to Ashokwadi and observed the mental condition of his brother Kundarik and seeing him unstable in his ascetic discipline,
29

Page #33

Bhavnabodh - Samvar Bhavana
he gave him proper advice and he entrusted to him all duties of the kingdom of Pundarikini and returned home.
Seeing Kundarik, fallen from high ascetic life and returning to worldly life, neither his advisors nor his attendants followed his commands. On the contrary they began to hate him as he was of no good in either life. Kundarik, after assuming the rulership of Pundarikini kingdom, indulged in overeating. Due to this, one night, he suffered much pain and vomitted; but out of hate none went near him which made him very angry and he decided to punish, all those who did not help him, next morning, if he gets relief from his pain. He died while in such extreme anger and bad thoughts and went to seventh hell, inviting all sorts of sufferings and miseries to be endured for a very very long time. What terrible doors of incoming sins !!
Here ends the Asrava Bhavana in the Seventh Picture.
Eighth Picture
SAMVAR BHAVANA (Comtemplation of Restraint on New Bondages) Samvar Bhavana :- What are described in seventh picture, are the fifty seven entrances for incoming sins and to close these entrances completly is to stop all sins from entering our soul and that is known as Samvar Bhavana.
PUNDARIK Example :- (1) (Connecting the life of Kundarik as described in Seventh Picture) Pundarik, as referred in seventh picture, adopted the broom of wool and mouth bandage, left by his brother Kundarik in Ashokwadi in Pundarikini city and decided that he should approach a great enlightened saint and determined not to eat or drink till he met such a master. He travelled far and wide on bare foot and his feet bled profusely as pierced by brambles and stones and yet he bore all this pain with equanimity with a firm determination to succeed in reaching a fit master and died while in such mental state. This great man, Pundarik as a result of noble life was born as a supermost deity in heaven in Sarvartha Siddh Viman, endowed with a very very long life. Just see! What a miserable and pathetic fall of Kundarik by Asrav and what a great height of achevement obtained by his brother Punkarik by Samvar or stopping all entries of sin to his soul!
VAJRASWAMI Example : (2) Shri Vajraswami was completely unattached to wealth and women. One, very beautiful girl, named Rukmini the dauther of a very rich householder was very much attracted to him while listening a religious discourse of Vajraswami. On returning home, she said to her parents that in her life, as a woman, if she thought of a marriage, she would marry Vajraswami only and none else and that was her vow. Hearing this, her parents were much astonished and upset and they tried to convince Rukmini that Vajraswami being an ascetic, observing a vow of strict celibacy, would never accept to marry Rukmini as he had closed all entrances of sins to his soul i.e., he had firmly accepted Samvar Bhavana and put an end to Asrav. Still Rukmini was firm in her resolve to marry Vajraswami. In the end, to please his daughter her father took her with some wealth and going to Vajraswami, he requested him to marry his beautiful and
30

Page #34

Kundarik Pundarik
22
Kundarik in a garden
leaving his ascetic life
Kundarik in hell
after death
Kundarik vomiting
w King giving crown
to the ascetic
Pundarik leading ascetic life
Pundarik in heaven
after death

Page #35

Vajraswami
Rukmini attracted by the ascetic
Father requesting
ascetic to accept her daughter and wealth
Rukmini trying to persuade Vajraswami
Rukmini becoming
a nun as Vajraswami remains unmoved

Page #36

Nirjara Bhavana-Dradh Prahari
delicate daughter and accept the wealth, and enjoy worldly life after marriage. So saying, leaving Rukmini with Vajraswami, he returned home alone.
Quite youthful and full of beauty, Rukmini tried with all possible overtures to persuade Vajraswami to marry her and enjoy wealth and other pleasures; she tried to explain to him the happiness that could be obtained in marriage life. But all efforts to this effect, made by Rukmini, could not swerve Vajraswami from his vow of strict celibacy. Thus this beautiful Rukmini failed and Vajraswami remained as unmoved as Meru Mountain. He was not moved even a little bit by Rukmini's allurements for marriage and resulting worldly life by any of her words or feelings or lustre. In the end, Rukmini firmly realised that this self-controlled great sage Vajraswami would never break his celibacy in thought, word and deed. It may be easy to melt iron or stone but not at all possible to persuade Vajraswami to marry her. Therefore, it is in vain to think of such a marriage at all. On the contrary, to still continue to hope for marrying Vajraswami will ultimately lead to her downfall. As a result Rukmini, giving her wealth in charity, became a nun and controlling her mind, speech and bodily behaviour by various religious discipline, she speeded up her journey to self-realization. This is known as Samvar Bhavana by great philosophers.
Thus ends Samvar Bhavana in Eighth Picture.
Ninth Picture
NIRJARA BHAVANA (Contemplation of Shedding of the Bondages) Burning a huge heap of one's bondages by practising twelve types of penance is called Nirjara Bhavana. In twelve types of penances, six are external penances and the rest six are internal penances.
Six Externals are:- (1) Anshan=Fasting. (2) Unodari=To take some mouthful of food less than usual. (3) Vrutti Sankshep=reducing one's mental desires with an aim to control self. (4) Rasaparityag=Abandonment of all tastes. (5) Kayklesh= To engage one self in religious practices by enduring physical hardship instead of conveniences. (6) Sanleenata=To remain peacefully in innocent loneliness and concentrate on good of one's soul. Six internals are: (1) Prayaschitt=Repentance (2) Vinay=Modesty (3) Vaiyavachcha=To serve meritorious saintly persons. (4) Shastra Pathan=Studying the scriptures with high respects. (5) Dhyan=Meditation. (6) Kayotsarga=To observe that my soul is quite different from my body and I am the only knower of this body. Whatever ailments are occuring in my body are not mine and thus to make preparation to face a peaceful death. Nirjara is of two kinds, one Akam Nirjara and the second Sakam Nirjara. Given below is the illustration of Nirjara Bhavana by an example of Vipraputra.
DRADH PRAHARI Example :- One Brahmin expelled his son, out of his house as he was given to seven kinds of vices. The son, leaving his parental house, joined a band of thieves and robbers. The leader of that band, finding this Brahmin's son very brave and courageous in his line of robbery, treated him like his own son. This Brahmin's son turned out as expert torturer and vanquisher of the enemy and so he was known as a firm attacker or Dradh Prahari. In course of time, this Dradh Prahari became the leader of his band of robbers. He was known as daring robber plundering cities and towns. In so doing, he killed many people. Once he raided a big city with
33

Page #37

Bhavnabodh - Lokswarup Bhavana
the help of his big band of robbers, and he was thereafter sitting in a Brahmin's house. In that family a very agreeable and sweet feast of rice and milk was
prepared due to some household occassion of joy and affection. The children were sitting all round the pot of sweets to share them. This robber began to touch this pot, seeing which the household Brahmin's wife said, "O you! The top of all fools! Why do you touch the pot and make it unusable by your untouchable hands ? When you touch this pot, the food in it will be untouchable for us. Do you not realise this simple fact of common behaviour ?" Hearing these words, the robber got enraged and in the feat of anger, he killed that poor Brahmin's wife. The husband of the woman who has taking bath, came running and tried to save his wife, was also killed by this robber. At that time a cow from Brahmin's house ran to the robber and tried to hurt him by her horns but this cow was also killed by the robber. While the cow was breathing her last she gave birth to a calf. Seeing this calf trembling near the dying cow, this robber was filled with pity and he was overpowered by remonstrance for killing Brahmin family and the cow ! He began to hate himself by acknowledging very dangerous sins he committed in killing many lives. He was shocked as to when would he be absolved of all these sinful actions. He felt that it was better to work for soul, leaving the deadly life of robbery.
With this high aspiration, this robber plucked all his hair of the head out and with a strong desire, he went to the outskirts of the city and rested in one of the corners of the city in Kayotsarga. Because he had been the source of trouble and anxiety to the people of this whole city, he was toutured by all who passed by with pelting stones and bricks at him, by striking hilts of swords to his body, by showering him with dust and by hitting him with lumps of earth. Thus for about a month and a half, these people tried to give trouble and torture to that robber and then stopped further. Dradh Prahari endured all these tortures peacefully. Then completing Kayotsarga, he went to another corner of the city and stood there in the same way, adopting Kayotsarga. There also he endured peacefully all hurts and tortures from the people for one and half months. One by one he passed on to all the four corner ends of that city adopting Kayotsarga and endured tortures peacefully for one and a half months at each corner. Thus this robber controlled his anger and forgave all those who troubled him a lot in return of what they suffered at his hands. At the end of six months passed in this way of extreme forgiveness, he burned all his previous bondage and became totally free from this worldly ties. He relinquished all kinds of sense of mineness and he obtained incomparable absolute knowledge of soul saving and he enjoyed eternal happiness of liberation. This example will strengthen the Nirjara Bhavana.
Tenth Picture
LOKASWARUP BHAVANA (Contemplation of Knowing The Nature of Fourteen Worlds) Lokaswarup Bhavana :- Given below is a brief description of this Lokaswarup Bhavana. The nature of Lokaswarup or fourteen worlds can be compared with a man, standing with his legs wide open and with his hands on his waist. The shape of Lokaswarup is like that of a tapering dining plate or like a wooden pestle standing straight on the ground. Down below are tha Bhuvan Pati, Vyantar and Seven Hills. In middle part are situated two and a half peninsulas.
34

Page #38

Dradh Prahari
Robber touching the pot of sweets
Dradh Prahari
killing Brahmin's wife
Robber killing Brahmin
Cu Robber killed cow as
it tried to save his masters
Withy great
repentance he became an ascetic
Ascetic standing in meditation
near main door
35

Page #39

Mokshmala - Lesson 17. Bahubala
On the top above are twelve divine areas, nine Graiveyaka, five Anuttar Viman and above all is placed Siddh Sheela, the abode of endless happiness of
Siddhas or self realised souls. This is how the illuminator of Lokaloka, all knowing, all seeing and incomparable knowers of Kaivalya or absoluteness have shown. Thus completes in brief the Lokaswarup Bhavana.
For closing all entrances to sins are Asrav Bhavana and Samvar Bhavan, for very high fruits of penances in Nirjara Bhavana and for getting some idea of Lokaswarup is this Lokaswarup Bhavana. Thus these four Bhavanas are completed in four pictures of this philosophical lesson.
Here ends the tenth picture.
"Gyana Dhyana Vairagyamaya, Uttam Jahan Vichar;
E Bhave Shubha Bhavana, Te Utare Bhava Paar." (Meaning : Whoever reflects on best thoughts full of right knowledge, meditation and nonattachment purifies his mind, and crosses the ocean of cyclic life of birth and deaths.)
Eleventh Picture : 11. Bodhdurlabh Bhavana - To get right knowledge in this world is very difficult. And to behave accordingly is very very difficult. Thinking like this is called Bodhdurlabh Bhavana.
Twelth Picture : 12. Dharmdurlabh Bhavana :- To get right religious teacher and listening of his right preachings are very very difficult in this present world. To think like this is called Dharmdurlabh Bhavana.
EXAMPLES FROM MOKSHAMALA
LESSON-17. BAHUBALA
By Bahubala one has not to mean the strength of one's own hands or arms. But here is given a short but wonderful life story of a great man named Bahubala.
Bhagawan Rishabhadeva a king leaving all attachments, entrusting his duties as king to his two sons Bharat and Bahubala was moving as an ascetic. After some time Bharat became a sovereign ruler and in his school of weapons was produced a powerful wheel and all the land wherever this wheel moved was brought under his rule and so he became the ruler of six continents. Only Bahubala did not accept his brother's suzerainty and so there was a battle between them; for a long time none was defeated; then Bharat in bitter anger hurled the strong wheel on Bahubala, but the rule was that this wheel would be ineffective on brothers of the same father and so this hurled wheel returned to Bharat without hurting Bahubala. At this Bahubala became very much angry and raised his powerful fist to beat Bharat, but exactly at that time there was a change in Bahubala's mind, his inclinations changed and he repented for what he had done and what he was about to do. He said "What I am doing is highly censurable and the result of my that doing will be very harmful and painful to me. Let Bharat enjoy the whole kingdom. Why should we destroy each other and gain nothing ? I should not strike Bharat with my closed palm of my hand, but it is also not proper to turn back my palm." So saying Bahubala
36

Page #40

Battle between Bharat and Bahubala
Deities showering flowers
on Bahubala's victory
Eye - Fight
While boxing, Bahubala
throwing Bharat in the sky
Sound - Fight
Bahubala lifting his fist to kill Bharat
Due to change in feelings & thoughts, lifted fist is used for pulling his own hair
Bahubala doing meditation in forest
Army watching everything

Page #41

Mokshmala - Lesson-22 Kamdev Shrawaka
with that palm pulled out hair from his own head and turned a monk, and left his kingdom and moved out as an ascetic. He desired to go and meet
Bhagawan Aadishwar who was staying with his ninetyeight religious initiated sons and other noble devotees male and female but feelings of pride arose in his mind that if he went there he might have to bow down to his ninetyeight younger brothers and so it was not proper for him to go there. Moved by such thought of pride he stayed in the forest with singleminded devotion and concentration.
Gradually twelve months elapsed and due to extreme penance, his body was reduced to a mere skeleton of bones and he looked like a dried tree but till the seed of pride was present in his mind, he could not obtain perfect liberation. Then Brahmi and Sundari both sisters in form of nuns came to him and preached him as under :- "Arya Valourous Brother ! You now get down from an intoxicated elephant. By riding it, you have suffered much." Hearing this from his sisters Bahubala started thinking about the preaching of the sisters and as a result he came to realise that the intoxicated elephant was none else but his sense of pride which he still had kept preserved in his mind and soon he abandoned feelings of pride and as he started to bowing down to his father and ninetyeight younger brothers, he obtained absolute incomparable and divine state of self-liberation.
Reader ! See how feelings of pride are undesirable and harmful!!
LESSON-22, KAMADEV SHRAWAKA
In the time of Bhagawan Mahavir there lived a Shrawaka-hearer and follower of true Jain Religion - named Kamadev who with a pure heart, observed twelve vows or Vratas, and endowed with discriminative intelligence was always devoted to the teachings of Nirgrantha Bhagawan Mahavir. Once in the Divine Assembly, Indra the highest Deity praised Kamadev's firm faith in Jain Religion. At that time, a deity of shallow understanding hearing in the Assembly this praise of Kamadev, spoke out :
"I have followed it. All can call themselves patient and quiet till they do not suffer from torments and miseries (Parishaha) and they can also boast of being steadfastly devotional to their adopted religion. I can prove this fact by turning Kamadev's mind away from his devotion to Jain Religion." Kamadev who was at that time quite stabilised in strongly observing his soul different from his body as a practice to leave his body peacefully at the time of death and free his soul (in Jainism it is called Kayotsarga).
This boastful deity assumed the guise of an elephant and pressed Kamadev unbearably but kamdev remained unmoved and steady; then this diety adopted the body like a wooden pestle and in the guise of a black serpent or cobra made a terrible hiss, but Kamadev remained unmoved and did not swerve even a little; then this Deity laughed cruelly and in a guise of a monster, beat Kamadev and tormented him very much; even then Kamadev did not shake or Swerve from his Kayotsarg; then this diety assumed the body of a lion and began to frighten Kamadev but the latter did not budge a little from his Kayotsarga. This way this boastful deity tried his best for the major part of the night to deviate Kamadev from his contemplation but totally failed in all his overtures. Then the deity by his Yogic insight saw that Kamadev was unshakable like immovable Meru Mountain. Then knowing unshakable stability and faith of Kamadev in his Kayotsarga religious practice, he bowed down to Kamadev in veneration and praise and asking pardon for what he had done, he returned home.
What lesson we learn from the stability of Kamadev in his Kayotsarga, can be easily
38

Page #42

Kamdev Shravak
Deity tormenting Kamdev Shravak
Deity asking forgivness against Kamdev Shravak
39

Page #43

Mokshmala - Lesson-23. Truth
understood from the above story without any further comment. The philosophic lesson from this is, that once you enter the preaching of Nirgranth Mahavir
Bhagawan, you should remain steadfast like Kamadev Shrawaka in your faith in the preaching of Bhagwan Mahavir. Meditations such as Kayotsarg should be done faultlessly, with a singleminded faith and steadfast devotion. With a changing or fickle mind, Kayotsarg meditation becomes faulty. We are pained to think of those who are prepared to down their religion for gaining some monetary value as they cannot be expected to be steadfast in their religious practices.
LESSON-23. TRUTH
It is said even in common words that truth is the support of this world creation, or this world maintains itself on the foundation of truth. From this saying the lesson is that religion, morality, kingdom and normal dealings in worldly life are carried on by truth. How dangerous would be the state of this world if there is no existence of these above four ? Therefore to hold that the whole world is maintained on truth is neither exaggertion nor unbelievable.
I am describing below, for philosophic consideration, how dangerous a bit of untruth of only one word spoken by king Vasu had resulted for him.
KING VASURAJA King Vasu, Narad and Parvat learnt same discipline from one teacher. Parvat was the son of the teacher who after his father's death, came to stay with his mother in the assembly of King Vasu. One night, with his mother by his side, Parvat and Narad were studying religious books, while studying Parvat said 'Ajahotavyam'. Hearing this, Narad asked Parvat the meaning of Aja to which Parvat replied, 'Naturally, Aja means a goat.' Narad said "When we three were studying this religious work under your father's guidance your father said that Aja meant Vrihi or rice of three years and now why do you say quite wrong? Thus verbal conflict arose between Narad and parvat on the truth of what the master said about the meaning of Aja. Then Parvat said, "Let us go to King Vasu and what he meant by Aja should be accepted by both of us as correct." Narad accepted Parvat's proposal and decided a prize to be given to the winner. Parvat's mother sitting by the side of her son, heard this. She also remembered clearly her husband's statement about the meaning of Aja as Vrihi or three years old rice. So fearing the defeat of her son Parvat, she went to King Vasu same night and she asked him about the meaning of the word Aja; to this King Vasu, who has also learnt from parvat's father as his teacher, that Aja meant Vrihi in the context of Ajahotavyam, said Aja meant Vrihi.
Hearing this Parvat's mother said, 'My son has told Narad that Aja meant a goat and knowing this is not correct, you shall have to tell Narad that Parvat was right in meaning Aja as a goat in that particular context, that this is to be done for siding with her son's statement when the contestants parvat and Narad would approach him for correct meaning. To this, King Vasu said, 'How can I tell a lie ? I cannot speak untruth.' But Parvat's mother said "If you do not side with my son, I shall put my life to an end.' Hearing this, King Vasu was under a dilemma. He thought that on his throne, he always spoke the truth and so he was sitting on his throne without any support of the throne seat and it was well known to all people under his rule. Now what should be done ? If truth is told then he incurs the sin of the death of Parvat's mother and wife of his teacher; if he accepts Parvat's meaning of Aja as a goat he has to tell the untruth by which
40

Page #44

Vasuraja
Narad & Parvat's conversation
Parvat's mother before the king
OS
Vasu taking Parvat's side
Lie leads to hell
.

Page #45

Mokshmala - Lesson-25. To reduce posessions
he would lose all fame of being a truth speaker.
Inspite of his love for truth-speaking, to save the life of his teacher's wife,
King Vasu very reluctantly said to Parvat's mother that he would tell a lie and side with Parvat's meaning of the said word. Hearing these words of King Vasu she came home. Next morning Narad, Parvat and his mother came to King Vasu for decision. King Vasu deliberately pleading ignorance, asked Parvat what was the bone of contention, to this Parvat said, 'O King of Kings Vasu ! Tell us the meaning of Aja.' King Vasu asked Narad as to what did Aja mean according to him. Narad replies 'O King ! Why do you not remember that Aja meant three years old Vrihi?' Hearing this, King Vasu said, 'Aja meant a goat and not vrihi.' The moment these words came out of the mouth of King Vasu, he was hurled out from his throne and he died on the spot.
The main lesson for us from the above story is that we should always speak the truth and particularly a king not only should speak the truth but also should favour justice.
Of the five great vows advised by Bhagawan Mahavir the first is non-violence in thought, word and deed and as fences around this vow, the rest four are given; the first of these fences is the great vow of truth speaking. It is necessary to know many sections of truth from religious scriptures.
LESSON-25. TO REDUCE POSSESSIONS
A living being having no limit to its possessions, is not happy. Whatever such a greedy person acquires, he desires to get more than it and in his burning desire to get more and more, he is unable to enjoy fully what he already has acquired, and sometimes he loses what he has already got. By such greed, his mind remains always unsatisfied and it becomes unstable and he indulges in sinful activities to satisfy his greed. In case, by accident he loses his life in the craze for getting more possessions, then it becomes the cause of his downfall. Monks can absolutely abandon all possessions, even householders can fix up a limit of their possessions, according to their necessities. By fixing a limit, one does not try to keep with him more than what he requires within his limits; and this way, he develops a sense of satisfaction in what he has already acquired and becomes free from a mad desire to get more and more. Thus he passes his time happily. It is a strange nature of wealth that when one has it, his desire to get more grows and thus his greed increases day by day. Rarely, a man even possessed of religious knowledge and firmly believing in leading a religious life, can free himself from the fetters of greed, and his inclinations get stuck up in this greed. But such greed is never bringing happiness to a man nor is it beneficial to his soul. Those who did not put a limit to greed, have been found to have suffered harm immensely.
EXAMPLE OF SUBHUM CHAKRAVARTI One who conquers the land of six continents and compels all the people of the conquered land to follow his commands, is known as a king of kings - a chakravarti king whose word is law to all lands where his conquering wheel goes. In the series of such King of Kings in a long stretch of time in the past, there was a Chakravarti King named Subhum who was not satisfied with his possessions of six continents and so he decided to conquer other six continents as part of series of Dhataki continents. He said, all the Chakravarti conquered six continents but he should do something more than that. By being the Lord of twelve continents his fame would
42

Page #46

Subhum Chakravarti
02
King Subhum along with charmaratna
drown in the sea and gone in hell

Page #47

Mokshmala - Lesson-29. Protection of all living beings part-1
spread far and wide for a long period. With this object in view, he put a Charmaratna or a hide-jewel in the sea on which his large army was supported.
It is said that one thousand Deities served this Charmaratan, one of whom thought as to when would he be free from that servitude and so he thought while serving Charmaratana, he should meet his wife and with this idea uppermost in his mind this deity went away, and other deities similarly followed the first one and in the end as there was no controller of Charmaratna, it was drowned and with its drowning King Subhum with all his army also died by drowning. King Subhum with his ambition to command more lands dipped in sins went to seventh hell, the direst of all pain giving hells named Tamatamaprabha. See ! The commander of six continents King Subhum could not enjoy and in a greed of getting more and more possessions died with all his soldiers. If this is the miserable end of a King of Kings then what to talk of ordinary mortals ? Thus greed or extreme possessiveness is the root cause of many sins. It can be called the father of sins. Its nature is to obstruct eleven vows. Therefore one who works for the uplift of his own soul, should at all cost abandon greed and put a limit to his possessions. In short one should live with the satisfaction of his minimum needs.
LESSON-29. PROTECTION OF ALL LIVING BEING -Part-1
No religion is comparable to Daya-compassion. Compassion is the very body of a religion. Where there is no compassion, there is no religion at all. There are such harmful religions in the world who say that there is no sin to kill a living being; at the most protect human life. Followers of such religious views are fanatical (Zhanuni) and blinded by their pride do not know even an iota of compassion. If they think minutely, setting aside their religious pride, they can easily realise that even killing a small germ is greatly sinful. As one loves one's self, similarly every living being loves its own self. Such followers should ask themselves as to how much unlimited karma they incur to their own soul by fearlessly and carelessly killing innumerable animals and germs only for a slight gain or a mere habit ? Not having any root of intelligence in them, they are not able to think this way at all, really they have trained themselves as incapable of such a line of thinking as to what is real compassion and they remain steeped in incuring more and more violence or life killing and hurting.
In Vedas and other books written by great preceptors of Vaishnavism, we do not find any thought about subtle compassion, still they, the followers of Vedas and Vaishnavas are much better than those not understanding at all the nature of real compassion. These Vedic followers have much thought of saving and protecting animals and birds and even beasts. But as compared with these people, we the followers of Bhagawan Mahavir are much more fortunate to learn real essence of religion that even hurting a small petal of flower is also sinful and as such we are quite free from performing all sacrifices involving killing or hurting any living being. We try our best to save all lives. We do not intentionally harm or like to injure or to take life of any living being. We are free from eating prohibited foods; we are totally vegetarians.
In our time the observance of compassion or non-violence in thought, word and deed has much been followed by us because of the strength of Yogic acquisition of Bhagawan Mahavir, the son of a great King Siddhartha. His noble behaviour and spotlessly clean pure and perfect non-violent living has supported the Jain religion and its followers leading to the maximum
44

Page #48

Shrimad Rajchandra

Page #49

Mokshmala - Lesson-30. Protection of all living beings part-II
good of all living beings. Men may gain excellent acquisitions, beautiful wives, obedient sons following the wishes of their parents, gain large families, gain
honour and fame and positions of high authority and to gain any or all of them is not very difficult but to understand what is true religion and to have indomitable faith in it even to a small extent, is very very difficult.
Those getting acquisitions listed above, by indiscrimination, incur many sins and invite great trouble and tortures for themselves and for others around them, while a little faithful feeling of Jain religion elevates the follower to a very high state of his soul or self. Thus compassion followed, leads the followers to a very blissful state. Since we have been born in the family of followers of Jain Religion, we should lead a pure compassionate life and constantly remember that we have to protect all living beings with the best of our efforts not only this but we should advise others also by all intelligent ways to follow this universally acceptable and beneficial compassion. In the next lesson, I shall tell you the story of very intelligent Abhaykumar who invented a method by which all living beings can feel protected. How fortunate we should consider ourselves if we get an opportunity to teach logically essentials of our Jain Religion to Anaryas or foreigners who are not following compassion from all points of view.
LESSON-30. PROTECTION OF ALL LIVING BEINGS -PART-II
WELL WISHER ABHAYKUMAR
A high king named Shrenik of Rajagrahi city of Magadha country, once was sitting in royal assembly. Occasionally his advisers and highly placed officers who were fond of flesh-eating remarked that accidently at that time prices of flesh had gone very low. This statement was heard by chief Minister Abhaykumar and so he decided to teach a lesson to these advisers and officers fond of flesh-eating. That evening after dispersing the assembly, King Shrenik went to his palace. Then Abhaykumar for his purpose went to each of these advisers and officers who had discussed flesh prices and wherever he went, the adviser or officer concerned asked the reason of his visiting his house to which to each and all, he replied that King Shrenik had caught suddenly a very deadly disease (Maha Roga) and all physicians called for treating the king said that flesh equal to the weight of one and a quarter penny, of the liver of a gentleman would cure the king of his deadly disease. You are favourite of the king so I have come to you for getting the required flesh. Every adviser or officer who heard it replied. "How can I give the required quantity of flesh though very small, from my liver unless I died ? It can be given only after I die and so I am unable to give it for saving king's life." So saying as an alternative, every officer and adviser offered some money for not telling the king about his refusal to give his liver flesh and taking all that, Abhaykumar returned home.
Then next day when the Royal Assembly met, all those who had refused to give the flesh from their liver, came and sat in their proper seats. The King Shrenik also was sitting on his throne and all those advisers and officers inquired about the King's health, hearing which the king was surprised and when he turned to Abhaykumar from whom they heard about the sudden attack of a deadly disease on the king previous night, Abhaykumar replied, O King ! Yesterday your advisers and officers said that flesh was available at very low price in the market; hearing it I had been to their homes for getting it but they gave me money but did not give me required flesh weighing only a penny and a quarter from their liver. Then tell me whether the required flesh was cheap or expensive? Hearing these words of Abhaykumar, all the advisers and officers of the King held their heads low in shame and none could say a word. Then Abhaykumar said - 'I had not arranged this skill to pain you at all but just to teach you a lesson.

Page #50

Well - wisher Abhaykumar
AD
In a royal
assembly, advisers & officers
saying that flesh has become very cheap
Money given against
flesh weighing only a penny and a quarter
OLENOX
2900090
Eeeeeee Accumulated money in royal assembly; Flesh cheap or Expensive?
47

Page #51

Mokshmala - Lesson-32. Truth getting successfully by modesty
When our flesh is to be given while alive, we totally refuse to do so for fear of death because we want to remain alive then what to talk of other birds and
animals who also love to remain alive as much as you or I do. Every living being wants to continue his or its life; none wants to die. As we want to save our life by parting with invaluable wealth in exchange, similarly the life of birds and animals also must be saved. We men are speaking, walking, intelligent higher animals and other living beings cannot argue with us in a language we can understand and so when we give them pain by killing them, we should realise what great sins we commit for our food when we can easily feed ourselves without such flesh and keep away from flesh eating at all. We should therefore constantly remember this saying of chief minister Abhaykumar that every living being loves its life and so protection of the lives of all living beings becomes our highest fundamental religion. There is no religion higher than protection to all living beings. King Shrenik was much satisfied and pleased by this saying of Abhaykumar, besides all the advisers and officers of the king also learnt a very important lesson and all of them took a vow not to eat any flesh as their food since that time till the end of their life. Flesh eating is prohibited and also not hygienically good and besides we do not get it without killing a living being and so it is against good moral and religious life. So they all followed Abhaykumar's teaching and began to give protection to all living beings since then and thereby they brought much joy and happines to themselves.
LESSON-32. TRUTH GETTING SUCCESSFULLY BY MODESTY
EXAMPLE OF KING SHRENIK When King Shrenik was ruling on the throne of the city named Rajagrahi, there lived in it a Chandal a man selling flesh of live animals. Once this Chandal's wife conceived and during this period of conception she had a strong desire to eat mangoes and so she asked her husband to get them for her. Chandal said that it was not the season for mangoes and so he was helpless, otherwise if it were a mango season, he would get it for her even if it was very high on a mango tree by his special mystic power. Chandal's wife replied that she had heard of a mango tree in queen's garden in the city which was yielding mangoes in abundance even in out of the season and on that mango tree, mangoes would be bending down and so her husband should try to get for her mangoes from that mango tree. To satisfy this wish of his wife, he went to that garden and surreptitiously going near that mango tree, by his mystic power, the branches laden with mangoes were bent down and took a few mangoes and by another mystic power that branch returned to its original height. Then he returned home and satisfied his wife's strong wish of eating mangoes. The Chandal repeated this procedure regularly and once the gardener observed the lessening of mangoes and thought somebody must be stealing mangoes and so he reported it to King Shrenik with all humility. Hearing this, King Shrenik asked his very intelligent Cheif Minister to find out the thief of mangoes. Abhaykumar with a clever trick found out Chandal as a thief of mangoes and called him to his court and asked as to how could he get the mangoes from such a high mango tree hoodwinking the sight of so many watchmen of the garden ? Chandal admitted his theft and said, 'Pardon me! I tell the truth that I have mastered a mystic power by which I can bend down a high twig and to bring it to its original height, and it is by this mystic power that I stole away the mangoes of queen's garden regularly to satisfy my wife's desire to eat mangoes. Abhaykumar said he could not pardon him but he could persuade the king to pardon him if he taught him in return his mystic power as he would need it. Chandal agreed to do so. Then Abhaykumar brought this Chandal to the king
48

Page #52

King Shrenik
Chandal's wife insists him
to get her mangoes
Chandal taking mangoes
To learn the mystic power, even Chandal (Assassin) should
be respected

Page #53

Mokshmala - Lesson-33. Sudarshan Sheth
when he was sitting on his throne and told the whole story of Chandal's regular stealing of the said mangoes. King Shrenik agreed to pardon the thief if he
taught him the mystic power learning. Then with trembling hands and fearstricken mind this Chandal standing on the ground began to teach king Shrenik sitting very high on his throne, but King Shrenik could not grasp it at all. Seeing this, Abhaykumar swiftly got up and said to king Shrenik as under - 'O great king! If you really need to learn this lore from this Chandal then you exchange places. i.e. you stand where Chandal stands now and let this Chandal sit on your throne, then only you will be able to learn the said mystic power.' King Shrenik acted accordingly and he acquired the mystic power from Chandal.
This story is only for getting a good lesson from it. It only says that without giving due honour to a teacher, a student even if a king, cannot learn anything. Thus respect to a teacher and modesty and humility towards him are only means by which a student can learn from his teacher. To acquire true knowledge, one should gently with all humility, approach a true teacher.
For getting the knowledge of our self, if we approach a Nigrantha Teacher or Preceptor with all humility how much beneficial to us would it be ! Therefore Bhagwan Mahavir has described modesty and humility as the root of religion in his holy scripture namely Uttaradhyayana Sutra. One can achieve great excellence by showing modesty and respectful humility to teachers, monks, learned men, parents and to all elderly persons.
LESSON-33. SUDARSHAN SHETH In olden times, even earlier to the time of Shri Mahavir, many persons have been monogamous i.e. satisfied with only one wife. One of them was a famous rich person Sudarshan Sheth, a saintly householder. He was very rich, having a beautiful form and face, lustrous and middle aged. Once he had to pass by the Royal Assembly Hall for some work in the city where he was staying. At that time the Royal Queen named Abhaya was sitting in the balcony of her palace from where, she saw this handsome Sudarshan Seth. She was attracted towards the lustrous body and face and she called him up through her servant, giving a reason simple in appearance but with deceit behind it. After some meaningless talk, she invited him for sex enjoyment. Sudarshan tried to preach her that it was very bad and she should not talk to him about it at all, still queen Abhaya could not calm down her desire for sex-enjoyment with Sudarshan. In the end Sudarshan said that he entirely lacked the power of his male sex and so he could not enjoy sex life with her at all. Inspite of this statement, queen Abhaya made all sex overtures in order to attract him but he was unmoved in his firm determination. So she allowed him in her utter helplessness to go away.
One day there was a public meeting and a dinner in the same city and so many people were moving here and there and it was a great celebration. Six sons of Sudarshan with Godlike features and very beautiful form and figure had come to this meeting and queen Abhaya with her attendant named Kapila also had come to this meeting with all her pomp and pride and there she saw those six sons of Sudarshan, and she asked her attendant Kapila as to who were these beautiful six sons ? Kapila said that they were the sons of Sudarshan Sheth. Hearing this, Abhaya felt much angry with Sudarshan. When the whole meeting and its celebration and dinner were over, Abhaya and her attendant jointly told the king - 'You may be under an illusion that in your kingdom justice and morality prevail; that your subjects are free from the attacks of bad men; but the fact is that bad intentioned people even enter your harem and there is none to protect the chastity of women in your harem. Then what to talk of other outside places where anybody can do anything. A Sheth named Sudarshan of your city invited me to enjoy sex life with
50

Page #54

Sudarshan Sheth
Queen Abhaya talking with Sudarshan Sheth
Kapila addresses the six kids as
sons of Sudarshan Sheth
Queen instigates the king about the character of Sudarshan Sheth
The seat turned
out to be a great royal throne
Aran

Page #55

Mokshmala - Lesson-43. Incomparable forgivness, Gajsukumar
him and I had to hear from him sentences not worth describing to you, but I hated everything and I drove him away. What a great lawlessness than this can
be said prevailing in your kingdom ?' Normally kings are always known for their impassionateness and onesided hearing and making hasty decisions without due or proper considerations, and added to this, came the sweet deceitful statements from his own queen. All these enraged the King very much just as a drop of cold water falling in extremely hot oil pan would enrage fire instead of quelling the heat. The king soon ordered that Sudarshan be hanged to death immediately and all arrangement for it were completed, what was left was only to hang Sudarshan.
Whatever else there may be, there is enough light in the assembly of this great world. Truth ultimately shines out and prevails over all falsehood and injustice. So the very time Sudarshan was made to sit on the chair for hanging, the seat turned out to be a great royal throne made up of pure shining gold and celestial bands were played and joy prevailed all around. The noble saintly character of Sheth Sudarshan shone out in full splendour and glory in the world galaxy. This proved that truth always ultimately wins. The best steadfastness of Sudarshan for faultlessly noble and normally excellent character raises one's soul to a very pure and high state !
LESSON-43. INCOMPARABLE FORGIVENESS Forgiveness is an effective weapon to conquer internal foes. It is an armour protecting holy character. A person who with pure heart sustains forgiveness with equanimity of mind even in unbearable pain, is able to cross the ocean of worldly life.
EXAMPLE OF GAJSUKUMAR Gajsukumar, younger brother of Krishna Vasudev, very handsome, renounced the worldly life taking initiation from Bhagwan Neminath at young age of only twelve and was engrossed in deep meditation sitting in a crematorium; thereby his character full of wonderful forgivness, attained very high spiritual state of the self. I tell you that story. Gajsukumar was betrothed to a very beautiful daughter of a Brahmin named Somal but before marriage Gajsukumar renounced the worldly life. So Somal got fiercely angry and wild as his daughter missed a beautiful boy who would be her husband and he went in search of Gajsukumar and searched out from where that great monk Gajsukumar was sitting in performance of Kayotsarga, with pure heart and steadfast mind in a crematorium; prepared a furness of wet sticky earth on the head of Gajsukumar and putting burning charcoal in it and added other firewood and so there was great heat. Gajsukumar's young tender body began to burn and seeing this, Somal went away from there. You can imagine what a terrible pain Gajsukumar might have been suffering by burns. But he kept equanimity of mind and did not allow any anger to disturb his mental peace. On the contrary making his soul elastic he said to himself that had he accepted Somal's daughter as his wife in marriage, Somal might have given him a rich turban which would have been tattered by long use and resulted in worldly miseries but instead he gave him a turban of burning fire by which he could be released from his soul's attachment to his body and so helped him to obtain quick liberation. As a result of this unshakable extreme forgiveness, Gajsukumar, bearing killing pain of burns with peaceful mind, became all seeing and all knowing, got infinite happiness of life. What an incomparable forgiveness and how excellent its result ! Philosophers have rightly said that if one's soul proceeds completely in its own nature of eternal peace and bliss, it realises liberation there and then. The famous forgiveness of Gajsukumar gives us an absolutely correct advice to follow it and realise our self quickly.
52

Page #56

Gajsukumar
Somal putting burning charcoal on Gajsukumar's head
53

Page #57

Mokshmala - Lesson-46,47. Kapil Muni Part
II
LESSON-46. KAPIL MUNI (MONK) PART-I
There was a city called Kaushambi. In its royal assembly there lived a learned man named Kashyap. His wife's name was Shreedevi who gave birth to a son named Kapil whose father expired when he was only fifteen years old. As Kapil was the only son, he was nurtured with all love and affection but he could not be a wise learned man and so some other man replaced his father's post. Whatever Kashyap earned by his skill and bequeathed to his son, was all spent in maintenance by Kapil who could earn no more.
Once Shreedevi was standing at the entrance of her house when she saw the learned Pandit on her husband's position passing by her house along with some of his servants moving with honour and pride. Seeing him going with great honour Shreedevi remembered the glory of the past time. She recollected how she enjoyed happiness when her husband served as a court Pandit. She reflected that not only she lost that happiness by her husband's demise but to add to that even her son Kapil did not study well. Thus she was engrossed in such sorrowful thoughts and tears burst out from her eyes. Just at that time Kapil returned home and asked his mother reason for her weeping and though reluctant to tell the reason, on his insistence, she said to him as to why she wept.
At this Kapil said "See Mother! I am ofcourse intelligent, but I have not been able to use my intelligence enough and so without the learning required to take my father's position I could not be selected; now if you permit, I am prepared to go where I can learn enough to my capacity." Shreedevi sorrowfully replied 'It is not possible for you. Otherwise there in Shrawasti town on the border of Aryawarta, your father's friend named Indradatta stays and he trains many students in scriptural learning - if you can go there, then you can learn from him as much as desired.' Soon after a couple of days Kapil departed for Shrawasti town and within limited time Kapil reached the residence of Indradatta and seeing Indradatta at his house told him his whole story and reminding him of his father's friendship with Indradatta requested to accept him as his student
Indradatta happily granted the request and started teaching Kapil. But Kapil had to beg for his food as he had no money for his maintenance during his study. Begging took a long time and at noon he had to cook his meals from the material got by begging and this way he spared very little time to study. Pandit asked Kapil the reason for his slow pregress in study, at which Pandit showing sympathy took Kapil to a rich man and arranged through him with a Brahmin widow to give Kapil cooked food regularly and thus relieved Kapil from his anxiety.
LESSON-47. KAPIL MUNU (MONK)-PART-I
While from this minor anxiety he was relieved, other major anxiety of worldly engagement arose. Kapil was in his prime of youth and that Brahmin widow who served him daily meals was also quite young and there being no other living member in her house they both came in regular contact and fell in love ! See how dangerous is the lonely contact !!
Kapil forgot his mission of learning and he and this Brahmin widow could hardly maintain themselves from what he received in charity from a rich man as arranged by Indradatta. As days passed by, both of them hardly could cloth themselves well. Kapil instead of remaining a
54

Page #58

Mokshmala - Lesson-48. Kapilmuni Part-1
student, became a householder; but he was quite incapable of earning his living as he had no experience of such earnings. So this clever Brahmin widow suggested to Kapil that it was no good to be confused but success lay in right efforts. She adviced him to see the king of that city Shrawasti whose daily practice was to give some gold to a Brahmin who visited him first in early morning and blessed him. If you try and succeed then you can get two golden coins. Kapil accepted it and he tried for about a week to get up in the early morning but failed to do so as he would go to the King's palace very late and so he returned empty handed. So Kapil decided to sleep in the open so that he could get up early in the morning to visit King's palace.
At the middle of night seeing the moonrise, Kapil got up and mistaking it for early morning he ran to the King's palace but there the palace guards thinking kapil to be a thief. Kept him with them and at day break they produced him before the king for punishment. Kapil was much sorrow stricken but the King did not find any symptom of a thief in Kapil and so at King's order Kapil narrated the whole story of his life. Hearing this pathetic story, King showed mercy and sympathy for this simple boy who mistook moonlit night as daybreak. The king felt mercy for him and wanted to relieve him from his poverty so he asked him what he needed to relieve his poverty. He can demand as per his wish as he had taken so much trouble to bless me. Kapil kept dumb for some time and when the king asked him the reason for his keeping mum, Kapil said, 'O King ! My mind is not yet at ease and so I am not able to decide as to what should I demand.' Hearing these words, the King asked Kapil to go to the opposite garden, think what to ask for and return. So Kapil went to the garden and sat at thinking.
LESSON-48 KAPIL MUNI (MONK)-PART-III
Originally Kapil who started with a desire of getting only two golden coins was now pushed by the waves of greed. He desired to ask for five coins instead of early two, then he again thought that five coins would not be sufficient for his maintenance. Therefore he should ask for twentyfive coins.
Then again his thought was changed that twentyfive coins would not be sufficient for the whole year or two and then again he will have to face poverty so he should ask for one thousand coins. But if there are some expensive occasions of children then one thousand coins will be also not sufficient, therefore he should ask for ten thousand coins so that his whole life can be passed very happily.
But again he thought that when ten thousand coins are spent away he will have to face poverty again, therefore he should ask for one lakh coins so that he can enjoy the whole life with the interest of the lakh coins.
But again he thought and told himself that oh soul! There are so many persons who are having lakhs of coins and so he cannot be famous by one lakh coins. So I should ask for one crore coins so that I may be regarded as a great wealthy person. Again he thought that by becoming only famous wealthy person he shall not have any power or authority so he should ask for half of his kingdom but if I ask for only half of his kingdom then the king would be of his equal grade and he would be called a beggar of the king therefore he should ask for his whole kingdom. Thus this Kapil drowned more and more in the ocean of greed.
55

Page #59

Mokshmala - Lesson-48. Kapilmuni Part-II
But basically bound with only light Karmas so he gradually returned from this stage of greed and began to think in a different way. Well good man ! Why
should you be so much ungreatful to take up the whole kingdom of the king and make him depraved who was kind enough to reward you as much as desired ? Really speaking it is only my own sense of depravity in doing so. Therefore I should demand for only half of his kingdom.
But no, I do not want even such botheration of ruling half kingdom and then where is the limit of botheration in becoming millionairs also. Therefore at persent I should ask for only one or two hundred coins instead of ten millions. Oh good man ! Even one or two hundred coins will lead me to sense pleasures and force me to miss my scriptural studies, therefore I should ask for five coins only, Oh ! At persent I do not need even five coins so I should ask for only two coins for which I had come here.
It is now clear enough that I was deeply drowned in the ocean of greed. What wonder ? The greed which was not satisfied with even asking for the whole kingdom is satisfied with only a feeling of contentment and sense of discrimination.
Had the king been an Emperor then what more I would have asked for and if I would have not obtained more than King's empire then how would my greed had been satisfied and unless my greed have been satisfied how would I have been felt happy. If my greed is not satisfied by even empire then how can it be satisfied by two coins?
Thus Kapil took right viewpoint and said to himself, 'I do not want even two coins, Oh ! From two coins my greed ascended to whole kingdom. Real happiness lies in only contentment and never in greed. Greed is the seed of the tree of whole worldly life. O Soul ! Why do you require it? You came here for learning and instead you fell in love, from that love you were brought to this king suspecting you as a thief; from there you were asked for requesting the king to give you some wealth to relieve you from your immediate poverty and from there you rose on the ladder of endless greed and now you descend to demanding or asking for nothing by rising on the ladder of contentment.
In this worldly life one falls from one difficulty to another having no end to such wandering. It is therefore quite meet for a wise man to abandon worldly life based on greed and attachment and enjoy invaluable happiness and peace in a life of non-attachment and infinite contentment.
In this way by quelling greed many of Kapil's layers of ignorance were torn asunder and his heart became full of joy and mind full of discrimination. Thus he could think of his highest self with best knowledge and rising on the ladder of knowledge he is said to have attained absolute knowledge.
How lowly is greed ! Philosophers and all knowing persons say that greed is endless like the endless sky. It never grows old, it remains always young and energetic. Once one desire is satisfied it develops the other and thus without end it goes on. Therefore contentment is the beneficial tree of unending happiness and it completely satisfies the essential requirements of mind and body.
56

Page #60

Kapil Muni
Brahmin widow advising Kapil to bring 2 golden coins from the king
The guards caught
Kapil while going King's palace in midnight
Kapil attaining Kevalgyan due to ignorance of greed
Pc
Kapil narrating his story before the king
Kapil thinking in garden
57

Page #61

Mokshmala - Lesson-73. Happiness for liberation
LESSON-73. HAPPINESS FOR LIBERATION
(MOKSHA SUKH) Some matters and mental desires are on this earth's galaxy which though known to some extent, cannot be explained well, still those matters are not perfectly everlasting or possessed of infinite points of view. When such matters cannot be said in words or are indescribable then how can we get any analogy for unending happiness of liberation ? Gautam Swami asked Bhagawan Mahavir to tell him about unending happiness of liberation and Bhagwan Mahavir replied, 'Gautam ! That unending happiness ! I know it but there are no adequate words to describe it. There is no analogy available here by which I can describe it or say it out. There is no happiness or matter in this world which can stand in comparison or equivalence with the unending or infinite happiness of liberation.' So saying he gave an example of a Bhil or a simple rustic, as follows:
EXAMPLE OF GOOD BHIL In a jungle there lived a good Bhil with his family. He had absolutely no idea of the adjunct of prosperity of a city etc. One day some king arrived there for horse play on his way and he badly suffered from thirst so he asked this Bhil with a sign to give him some drinking water which this Bhil gave. The King was much satisfied drinking fine cold water, and with a view to reward him for giving this invaluable water, the King took him wih him. After returning to the city, the King kept him in a royal way, the like of which he had never seen in his whole life in the forest - beautiful palace to stay, many servants to satisfy his needs, very attractive cot to sleep and very sweet tasty food and very fragrant ointments for applying them to his body for extreme comfort. Thus the Bhil was extremely pleased and happy. The king sent many diamonds and emeralds of various colours and kinds and many other similar objects to the Bhil for seeing; he sent the Bhil to gardens and orchards fo a pleasure walk and stroll. Thus the King tried to keep the Bhil extremely happy. One night when the Bhil was lying in cot and all around were sleeping he remembered his family and children and so he suddenly got up and without taking anything from these, he started for home and on his return he met his family people who asked him as to where had he been all these days. Bhil replied, 'In all happiness, I saw many praise-worthy things where I had gone with the king.
Family People : But what were they like? Please describe them.
Bhil : What can I say? How can I describe what I saw and enjoyed ? There is nothing here known to us by which I can give you an idea of what I saw and enjoyed.
Family People : How can this be ? Here are conches, shells, fine stones etc. Was there anything worth seeing like them ?
Bhil : No, No, Brothers ! There is nothing here which can be compared with the things I saw and enjoyed in the city. Nothing here is so beautiful and valuable as can be compared even with the hundredth part of the thing I saw there.
Family People : Then keep quiet; do not say anything. It appears you suffer from a hallucination. How can there be anything better than what we find here with us?
O Gautam ! As this Bhil had experienced royal happiness and prosperity and he knew it, still he could not explain to his family people by giving any comparison, similarly I cannot describe to you even the samllest part of incomparable happiness of liberation which is of the nature of truth, consciousness and joy of the pure Self without any possibility of transformation. I cannot find any analogy for this happiness.
58

Page #62

Good Bhil
The king provides the Bhil with extreme comfort
OD DOO
Bhil gives water to the withirsty king
Family people : where were you? Bhil: I was enjoying incomparable comfort
Bhagwan Mahavir: I am experiencing incomparable happiness, but I can not describe it
59

Page #63

Questions from Bhavanabodh
Those doubting the nature of liberation are illogical rationalists. They have no idea of real happiness as they are after momentary happiness of this
world. Some having self-knowledge say that there being no means of greater happiness left except the available means of worldly happiness, those who have or claim to have self-knowledge say that happiness of self-knowledge is unending and limitless. But this statement does not show any power of discriminative understanding. Sleep is loved by every man but therein one is not able to know or see anything, and if anything is known in sleep, it is the illusory knowledge of the dreamt objects which are not real at all, but such dream experience may have some effect on the dreamer's mind. If in sleep without dream, one can see and know all fine and gross objects and yet take quiet undisturbed sleep, then how can he describe the objects seen in deep sleep? What analogy can be fitting to such experiences in dreamless sleep? This is only a gross example, but a simple person who has no discriminative understanding, can by this example be helped to think about eternal happiness that a realised soul enjoys in liberation.
The illustration of the rustic Bhil is in a little different language and with a slight change told here to help one to get some idea of eternal happiness.
To remember the essence of Bhavanabodh and Mokshmala,
thinkover the questions given below:
Anitya Bhavana - Dejection of a Beggar (Page 1)
1. Why did the beggar wandering aimlessly approach a common man's house ? 2. Why was the beggar delighted ? 3. Why did he sit under the shade of a tree ? what were his possessions ? 4. What did he see in his dream ? And how did he wake up ? 5. Why was he grieving after he woke up ?
Asharan Bhavana - Anathi Muni (Page 4) 1. What was the forest called and how beautiful was it? 2. Who was sitting under the tree ? 3. What does the king think on seeing the ascetic ? And what did he do before sitting at a reasonable distance from him ? 4. What does the king ask ascetic ? What was the ascetic's reply ? 5. What do you mean by orphanhood ? Who was ascetic's father ? 6. What pain was he experiencing ? 7. What options did his parents try to relieve him from his pain ? 8. Why is it called orphanhood ? 9. What did he think before sleeping ? 10. How did he become Lord of self ? 11. Who is responsible for hell? Who is responsible for heaven ? 12. What did king receive from Anathi Muni's preaching? 13. How does the king express his feelings towards Anathi Muni?
Ekatva Bhavana - Namiraj (Page 8) 1. What pain did Namiraj start experiencing ? 2. What meditation did the doctor suggest ? 3. From where did the noise come? 4. What did king start thinking after the silence ? 5. What did he remeber after attaining detachment? 6. What did he think before sleeping ?
60

Page #64

Questions from Bhavanabodh
Anyatva Bhavana - Emperor Bharateshwar (Page 14) 1. What fell out from the finger? And why did the finger seems ugly? 2. What did he take out from all fingers ? 3. What made fingers look beautiful ? 4. What does finger beautify ? and what does the hand beautify ? 5. What does the body beautify ? 6. What did king Bharat attain in his inner-self ? 7. What was averted after attaining detachment ? 8. What did purest meditation give rise to ? 9. What did he do after attaining kevalgyan ?
Ashuchi Bhavana - Sanatkumar (Page 19) 1. Which form did the deities take and where did they come ? 2. At that time, what was applied on Sanatkumar's body? 3. How did the Brahmins nod? 4. What happened because of the deities' praise of beauty ? 5. How differently did the two deities nod their heads in the assembly? 6. What did the Brahmins say ? 7. What happened on spitting the bettle leaf ? 8. What did Sanatkumar do on realizing that his whole body had turned into poison ? 9. What happened to Sanatkumar on attaining detachment ? 10. How many diseases did he have after becoming saint? 11. What did Sanatkumar say to a deity who had come to test his determination
Nivrutibodh - Mrugaputra (Page 22) 1. What is Mrugaputra watching, while standing in the balcony ? 2. Who is standing on the royal road ? 3. What did Mrugaputra attain by gazing at the saint? 4. What did he remember on remembering his previous birth ? 5. Realizing sorrows of world, what did he wish for ? 6. What does he ask from his parents ? 7. What are the difficulties in following the ascetic's disciplines ? 8. On seeing Mrugaputra's strong determination, which permission did his parents give ? 9. What did Mrugaputra attain after adopting ascetic's life?
Asrava Bhavana - Kundarik (Page 29) 1. What did the Kundarik do on hearing the monk's teachings ? 2. What was the result of his diseased body due to ill eating in ascetic discipline ? 3. What did he hanged on the tree in Askokwadi after returning home? 4. What did Pundarik do after entrusting Kundarik his kingdom ? 5. What did Kundarik do after assuming the rulership ? 6. What was the outcome of the vomittings in the night? 7. Where did he go after dying in extreme ourger and bad thoughts ?
Samvar Bhavana - Pundarik (Page 30) 1. What did Pundarik decide after adopting Kundarik's broom of wool etc.? 2. Where did Pundarik go after his death?
Samvar Bhavana - Vajraswami (Page 30) 1. What did Rukmani decide on listening to the discourse of Vajraswami's beauty ? 2. What did Dhanavasheth tell Vajraswami after taking Rukmani along with his wealth to Vajraswami. 3. What overtures did Rukmani do to persuade Vajraswami to marry her ? 4. What did Rukmani do after that ?
Nirjara Bhavana - Dradh Prahari (Page 33) 1. What did Dradh Prahari do after entering Brahmin's house ? 2. What did Brahmin's wife tell him ? 3. What did Dradh Prahari do on hearing Brahmin's wife ? 4. What did he think after killing four lives? 5. Where did he stand after plucking out all his hair of the head ? 6. What did he attain after enduring all the tortures peacefully?

Page #65

Questions from Mokshmala
Lokswarup Bhavana (Page 34) 1. What is the shape of Lokswarupa ? 2. How are we benefited after knowing this?
Bodhdurlabh Bhavana (Page 36) 1. What is the right knowledge ? 2. Why to get right knowledge is difficult in present time? 3. Why we are not able to behave according right knowledge which we have got?
Dharmadurlabh Bhavana (Page 36) 1. To whom we should say that he is a right Preacher ? Why do get his preachings in present time difficult ?
Bahubala (Page 36) 1. Why does not Bharat's chakra enter Ayuthshala? 2. What did Bharat on Bahubala in bitter anger ? 3. Why did not the chakra hurt Bahubala ? 4. What did Bahubala do in anger ? 5. What did Bahubala think as soon as he raised his hands? 5. What did Bahubala do with his hands? 7. What did he think while wants to go Bhagvan Aadishwar ? 8. How long did he stand in forest ? 9. Whom did his two sisters send to preach him? 10. What did he attain while raising his foot to go to his brothers and bow down to them ?
Kamdev Shravaka (Page 38)
1. What did Indra praise about Kamdev in the Divine Assembly? 2. What did the deities do to Kamdev? 3. Why did God give Kamdev example to the saints ?
King Vasuraja (Page 40)
1. What did Parvat say when Parvat and Narad were studing religious books ? 2. What did Parvat reply when Narad asked about meaning of 'Aja'? 3. Where did Parvat's mother go in the night? 4. In the morning, when Narad and Parvat went to king Vasu, what did king Vasu reply? 5. What was the outcome of king Vasu's lie?
Subhum Chakravarti (Page 42)
1. How many continents did Subhum decide to conquer inspite of his possessions of six continents ? 2. Why did he wish to conquer six continents of Dhataki continents? 3. What did he do to go to Dhataki continents ? 4. How many Deities served charmartana ? 5. What did these deities think? 6. What happened to charmaratna when all Deities went away ? 7. Where did Subhum go after his death?
Abhaykumar (Page 46) 1. In the royal assembly of Shrenik, what did advisers and officers say ? 2. Why did Abhaykumar go to all advisers & officers house? 3. What did advisers and officers give while refusing to give liver flesh ? 4. What did all advisers and officers ask when King Shrenik sat on this throne ? 5. Why was the king surprised ? 6. What did Abhaykumar say? 7. What did Abhaykumar say when all advisers and officers held their head low in shame? 8. On Abhaykumar's teaching, what did all advisers & officers sacrifice ?
62

Page #66

Questions from Mokshmala
King Shrenik (Page 48) 1. How did chandal bend the mango tree? 2. When chandal asked for forgivness, what did Abhaykumar say?
Sudarshan Sheth (Page 50)
1. What did queen Abhaya and her attendant Kapila say to king about Sudarshan ? 2. What punishment did the king give to Sudarshan Sheth in anger ? 3. What happened to the chair made for hanging ?
Gajsukumar (Page 52) 1. What does Somal Brahmin put on Gajsukumar's head ? 2. What does Gajsukumar think at that time? 3. After death where Gajsukumar has gone ?
Kapil Muni (Page 54) 1. Where does Kapil go for studying ? 2. Why was not Kapil able to study ? 3. What did Kapil get trapped in during studying ? 4. Where does Kapil go to take two gold coins ? 5. Who caught him when he was going to take gold coins ? 6. Why did king ask Kapil to go to opposite garden? 7. While thinking in the garden, what does Kapil think to take ? 8. What did he gain from changing his mind's thought ? 9. What does Kapil say to the king ?
Good Bhil (Page 58)
1. Why did the king take Bhil alongwith him ? 2. Where did the king keep the Bhil after returning to the city ? What did the king show him daily? 3. Where did the Bhil go in the night? 4. What does his family ask him ? 5. Why is not Bhil able to answer his family members ?
- Parasbhai Jain

Page #67
_