Way of Life Part 1

SR No.: 006513
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Bhadraguptasuri
Publisher: Vishvakalyan Prakashan Trust Mehsana
Publication Year: 1986
Total Pages: 432
Language: English
Classification: Book_English & Religion
File Size: 22 MB

Page 39

DISCOURSE 2
it to the great sage and he gave it to the great sage with a cheerful and selfless mind. This point should not be forgotten. Even after giving it and even after the sage went away, he did not regret having given him the Khir. "Oh, why did I give away all the Khir? It would have been better if I had given a part of it and retained something for myself". He did not think thus. Even after the sage went away, the image of the sage remained in the mind of the child. He could not forget the serene and graceful face and the graceful eyes of the sage.
Not a mere Gift of Khir but actually a Gift of Love
It was a gift of love. It was not a gift given as a matter of duty. "A Muni has come to our area. We have to invite him and give him some food". This is merely a matter of duty. There is no love or any feeling of amity in this. It is a deed done without love or devotion.
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It was not merely the righteousness of giving something out of charity but it was also a righteous deed done out of love and devotion for a muni. The love and devotion for munis and sadhus and the love of renunciation constitute the best kind of Bhavadharma or the emotion of righteous devotion. The best kind of Bhavadharma brings the best fruits. The cowherd did not become Shalibhadra by giving merely a gift of Khir. If by giving merely a gift of Khir, you could become Shalibhadras, you would give not a plate of Khir but a cistern, full of Khir and you would become such a great danvir (magnanimous person). But one cannot become a Shalibhdra by giving merely such a gift. That cowherd boy died of a terrible stomach-ache that very night. Even at the time of death, he was thinking of the muni. His mind approved of the charity done by him. His mother was sitting near him. But the child's mind was concentrated on the great man. How much acquaintance did he possess with the great sage? Whether he had an acquaintance with the sage or not, he had a darshan of the sage; he visualized the sage. The darshan of the Muni became a great act of dharma for the boy. That great dharma "transferred" the boy to the magnificent mansion of Gobhadrashresti. He entered the womb of Bhadra, the wife of that Shresti