________________
FREEDOM FROM REACTION (1)
69
times a day, iterating, "It's you who are in the wrong". The poor remonstrator knows not what to do. He says to himself, "What a spectre have I raised! I only pointed out his mistake in all goodwill and affection, with a view to saving him from unpleasant consequenccs, but this man has taken it amiss. Reacting to a supposed insult, he is now dominated by a feeling of revenge and is for ever finding fault with me." Without non-violence, there can be no freedom from reaction.
I look upon Acharya Bhikshu's life as a model of non-violence. In the past two centuries, there have been only two apostles of nonviolence-Acharya Bhikshu and Mahatma Gandhi. There is a good deal common to them both.
A devotee came to Acharya Bhikshu and said, "That man over there is picking faults in you. He says you have this defect and that -- indeed a thousand imperfections!" Acharya Bhikshu blandly replied, "What's wrong with that? I became a monk simply to get rid of my imperfections. I'm practising austerity to be free of my defects. That man is my great benefactor, since he is cooperating with me in the task of removing my faults. I am grateful to him."
Here is a life of pure action. Acharya Bhikshu had not a trace of reaction in him. An average person, when told of someone picking faults in him, would react with a vengeance
A politician standing for election was told that a particular person was calling him names. He immediately reacted by saying, "All right! Let me win this election. As soon as I become a minister, I'll set him right, teach him a lesson for calling me names."
Most people think it manly to pay back in the same coin. Tit for tat! Someone hurls abuse at you. Ifyou endure it in silence, you are no man! You must hit back. Very few people are able to maintain their equilibrium in the face of an insult. Very few return good for
cvil.
Here's another leaf out of Acharya Bhikshu's life. He was preparing to sojourn in Pali for the rainy season. He obtained permission srom the owner to stay in an old shop. Later some people came to know of it. There are all kinds of people in the world. At that time there were a great many opponents of Acharya Bhikshu. These adversaries went to the owner of the shop and instigated him against the Acharya. The shop-owner was thus misled into turning the Acharya out. "You can't stay here," said the shop-owner. Acharya Bhikshu smiled and said, "All right!" and walked out of the shop. He found shelter elsewhere. The rains set in. Very heavy rains! It so chanced that under the impact of the heavy downpours and the cyclones accompanying it, the shop where he had carlicr stayed collapsed. When he came to know of it, the Acharya said, "Look! Those people who turned me out did me a good furn. If I had stayed
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
