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PART III STORIES PRECEDING BHAGAWÄN MAHÄVIR
Ilächikumär to demonstrate his skills again. Accordingly, Ilächikumär got on the rope again and displayed his skills, again doing a superb job. But at the end of this second show, the King pretended to be drowsy and asked him to repeat the performance again. Ilächikumär could not believe the situation. He suspected that there was something wrong. However, since he was still eager to accomplish his cherished goal of marrying the girl, he decided to try again.
Once again, he began the ropewalk, triumphantly noting the audience's reaction. While looking around, he noticed a beautiful woman offering sweet food to a young monk. She was in the prime of her youth and was very attractive and highly graceful. However, what surprised Ilächikumär was that the monk was clearly unaffected by her beauty.
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Ilächikumär realizing the futility of attachment while observing a monk's action
He compared this to his own situation. Ilächikumär had changed his entire life for the beauty of one girl, yet the monk was impervious to the lovely woman in front of him. He was amazed by the monk's self-control and detachment towards the beautiful woman. What power kept the monk aloof in her presence? In addition, while not only remaining aloof, the monk's face radiated peace!
This attitude of the monk raised a succession of thoughts in the mind of Ilächikumär. "Why do I not feel detachment in the presence of a beautiful young girl?" He also continued to wonder why the King had asked him to repeat his performances, and finally he suspected that the King must be attracted to the girl and must be waiting for him to fall from the rope. "If I fall from the rope, I would be badly hurt and would not be able to perform acrobatic feats. In that case, I will never be able to marry the girl for whom I have abandoned my home and my parents."
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Ilächikumär now realized that the happiness he was looking for was merely an illusion. He began to recall his early religious training, when he had been exposed to religious principles and had learned about the soul within the body and its immense capabilities. He realized that his achievements as an acrobat must have been due to that inner
JAIN STORY BOOK
