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[The Chanda-Kaushika Gets A Blessed Life
Many innocent people have thus lost their lives. I would, therefore, request you not to follow this route; you may take another which is not very far off from this place. It is certainly never advisable to risk your life for nothing." With these words the boy went away and Lord Mahavira, who was pleased with the love and simplicity of the boy, stood there in meditation for a few seconds.
It was not long before he discovered by means of his spiritual knowledge that the snake was a great soul in his previous birth whose fall was caused by a sudden maturing of his inauspicious karmas and that his present actions were such as would lead him to still worse conditions. He felt that he could be easily brought back to the right path and that the strength and energy, which he was wasting in perpetuating sinful acts, could be soon applied to performing righteous deeds.
If a man has got strong mental faculty and if he utilises it for the welfare of mankind it is so far so good. But if he misuses his powers in obedience to the maturity of his evil karmas, he can be easily brought to the right path by man of spiritual culture. Lord Mahavira could not lose this golden opportunity. He was born only to spread peace and happiness in the world and to teach love and affection to all living beings. The main object of his life was to redeem the fallen creatures and to propagate the feeling of equality among men and animals, birds and beasts, worms and insects. He therefore, decided to curb down the evil inclinations of the cruel snake and to turn them to another direction. And this decision of the Lord was quite in accordance with his good nature. Although people hated the snake on account of
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