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TRAINING IN METHODS OF MIND-TRANSFORMATION
away" here means keeping indifferent, in the middle course, not to be swayed by extremes. The minister had been all in all. He had immense authority and supervised the entire kingdom. The king got so displeased with him as to pronounce for him the death penalty by hanging. The whole town was in turmoil at this turn of events. The day fixed for hanging happened to be the minister's birthday. People were celebrating it with song and dance. Trumpets were being sounded. Hundreds of relatives, friends and well-wishers had gathered at the minister's house. The atmosphere was like that of a grand fair. In the midst of these celebrations arrived the royal decree announcing that the minister would be hanged in the evening. All singing and dancing and trumpeting came to a sudden halt. All joy and merry-making as suddenly ended. Sorrow pervaded everywhere. People became sad. The minister saw it all and exclaimed, "Why? What's the matter? Why have they stopped playing on the trumpets and the timbrels? Who has put an end to singing and dancing?" His friends replied, "Sir, you are going to be hanged in the evening. Our hearts are full of sorrow. How can we dance and make merry?" The minister said, "Nonsense! Why can't one die with a song on one's lips? Why drown oneself in sorrow? What for? Go ahead with the festivities please!" So the dancing and singing and the merry-making recommenced, and all went on as before. The minister displayed not the slightest worry, and no fear at all. Not a wrinkle on his merry face! The king came to know of it. He learnt that the minister's birthday was being celebrated with elan. Dancing and singing and joy-making were in progress. His messengers told him, "Your Majesty! It is as if there were no cause for gloom. Instead there is wild merry-making, as if a son had been born - a son whose arrival had been long wished for. There is not a trace of sorrow anywhere!" On hearing this, the king became thoughtful. He said, "Why kill a man who knows how to live?" There did not seem to be any point in hanging the minister. The order for his death was revoked.
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He who is established in fearlessness, becomes fully conscious and alert. Such a man is not afraid of anything. Only such a man can practise non-violence; his mind may be said to have been completely transformed. In the practice of non-violence, Lord Mahavir places the greatest emphasis on freedom from fear. According to him, a man who is not utterly fearless could never be nonviolent. The man who is not free from fear could not practise heartpurification; the fearful man could never effect mind-transformation. The great reward of wakefulness is total absence of fear. Freedom from fear is the greatest means of obliterating langour and negligence.
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