________________
210 )
[The Married Life of Prince Vardhamana
mere warning of his renouncing the world to his parents and kinsmen. Although apparently he was leading a married life and enjoying all the pleasures of the royal palace still his mind was primarilly occupied with the one feeling of self control. He did enjoy worldly pleasures that came to him of their own accord, but he enjoyed them with a feeling of active indifference, and self-control, and not with a 'feeling of indulgence. But It was necessary for him to act like this because karmas cannot be destroyed until their fruits reaped by the doer himself. He was not desirous of material wealth or of worldly fame. He was not attached even to his wife and parents. The only thing that he was mad after was to do good to thers and then to attain self-realisation. He wanted to sever all his connections with this world and lead the life of an ascetic as soon as possible. The main object of his life was to give shelter to the miserable creatures of this world, and to attain salvation in the end. He did not try for his own liberation only but also guided other people to the right path. He removed all their doubts by means of his knowledge and thus they were made to imitate him in his right conduct. When they saw him performing the ten duties meant for a hermit they too, followed suit. The indifference of people, who can remain uninfluenced both at the time of enjoying worldly pleasures and at the time of practising self-realisation cannot manifest itself until and unless the reality of the thing is known. They live in the world and they experience all the feelings of joys and sorrows but their worldly life when observed more minutely, appears like that of a lotus in water. Living in the world they live above the world, just as a lotus growing in water is untouched by it. They came into this world as if with a vow to enjoy without indul.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
