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punishment will not be abated. There is only one solution for him to get his punishment lessened and that is by bearing the blows patiently.
The only remedy to alleviate punishment allotted by ‘karmasatta’ is to bear it with equanimity.
Question: "If we have the power to retaliate with twice as much strength, why should we tolerate anything?”
Answer: “There is a possibility that the prisoner may be stronger and more athletic than the jailer. Yet, he must take the punishment calmly if he wants the sentence to be reduced. The question posed to you is, who was more powerful? Lord Mahavir or the cowherd who hammered nails in the Lord's ears?”
“Lord Mahavir”.
Then why did the Lord allow the cowherd to put nails in his ears? If he had challenged the cowherd and mangled his earlobes, the cowherd would have screamed and run away. The Lord did not strike, did not retaliate and nor did he escape. He bore the terrible pain of being nailed with calm and composure. Why?
This is because the Lord knew that the cowherd was the jailer who was merely executing the orders given by karmasatta for his crime and that retaliation would only end up increasing his punishment.
What was the Lord's crime?
In his 18th birth, the Lord's soul was born as Triprushtha Vasudev, the Emperor of the three continents. Once, sleep eluded the Emperor. He called his musicians
Consume whatever has come on your plate,
suffer whatever your fate brings you.
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