________________
296 ]
[ Mahavira in eyes of the readers
There is no wonder if the Lord had to suffer various kinds of physical troubles and hardships in order to attain spiritual knowledge, for when a student las to undergo various kinds of corporeal punishments in a primary school in order to attain a little of the ordinary knowledge of worldly things of daily use, spiritual knowledge which is vast and endless, cannot be attained without undergoing a number of ordeals. We have said above that the more important the thing, the higher is its price. Just as gold increases in quality after being heated in fire, and the more it is heated the brighter it becomes; in the same way, the soul in this world becomes pure after crossing an ocean of ordeals, and the more it suffers the purer it becomes. It is impossible to imagine how many troubles and calamities Lord Mahavira had to suffer and how many Upasargas and Parishahas (i. e. disturbances) befall him; but never for a moment did he deviate from the path of duty, righteousness, aim and patience in his life. Even when he was a prince, he always remained calm and contented; and now, when he was the Lord-paramount of a boundless empire, he had no difficulty in achieving his object. His own intellect which distinguished right from wrong was his prime-minister; his resolute will was the strong army prepared to conquer the three worlds; his peaceful mind free from doubts and suspicions was his ever-lasting treasure; and his spiritual influence which spread everywhere in an equal proportion was his holy empire. He was a great soul, and on account of practising self-control, he had killed all his desires. He was, therefore, the Emperor of the emperors. We know it well that the subjects fear their King, and the king is likewise afraid
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
