Way of Life Part 3

SR No.: 006515
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Bhadraguptasuri
Publisher: Vishvakalyan Prakashan Trust Mehsana
Publication Year: 1986
Total Pages: 348
Language: English
Classification: Book_English & Religion
File Size: 18 MB

Page 76

THE WAY OF LIFE
that make him fit to receive the deeksha. Just because you are wealthy you are not fit to become a Sadhu and just because a man is a beggar; he is not unfit. In such a lofty matter as giving the deeksha there should not be thoughtless imitation. "The great Acharya Suhasti himself gave the deeksha to a beggar; si I too will give the deeksha to a beggar”. This kind of blind imitation should not be made. The deeksha should be given to anyone only in accordance with the commands of the Jin.
The Sadhus gave that new Sadhu as much food as he wanted. In fact, the beggar ate more than what he needed to satisfy his hunger. By evening he developed stomach-ache. The malady kept increasing. After the Pratikraman (the atonement for sins committed knowingly or unknowingly) his stomach-ache became acute. The Gurudev Acharya Suhasti and the other Sadhus sat near him; and recited the Namaskar Mahamantra. Even the Shravaks who had come to perform the Pratikraman began rendering service to the new Sadhu. There were many wealthy merchants among them. The new Sadhu saw all the devotion and service being rendered by them; and thought : "I became a sadhu for food; yet these wealthy men and men of high position and status are rendering service to me. Those who would not even glance at me when I was a beggar, are now massaging my feet. And this Acharyadev ! How full of com passion he is! In order to secure for me a better state oi existence in my next life; and to secure the other-worldly welfare for me, he has been blessing me gracefully; and has been trying to enable me to attain and retain a state of Samadhi or spiritual equanimity and integrity. If I become a Sadhu with a genuine feeling of renunciation...." Thus genuinely accepting the Sadhudharma and listening to the Namaskar Mahamantra he breathed his last; and took birth in the womb of the queen of Kunal, the son of Ashoka, the great.
THE FEELING OF DEDICATION IS BRED IN THE WOMB OF GRATITUDE
Now you know how much he could understand about the principles of the life of a Sadhu, during his career as