________________
Bhagawan Mahavir )
[ 413
euch is the consequence of insulting and opposing religious heads.” Soon after this Lord Mahavira left that place and resumed his Vihara.
GATHAPATI ANANDA, THE IDEAL SHRAVAKA,
Purifying many places with the dust of his feet, Lord Mahavira reached one day a village named Vanijya, which was at that time under the possession of King Jita Shatru. The Lord began to preach his message to thousands of men and women of that place. But in the whole audience the name of Ananda, the greatest Gatha-pati or capitalist of the village, owning twelve croers of gold coins, deserves special mention here. He was so much delighed to hear the religious instrucion of the Lord that he accepted the vows of a Sravaka ( or house holder ) and began to lead a very simple life from that day. He bade good-bye to passion, anger, greed and attachment also in short, we can say that he began to lead an ideal life in every way. It is on account of this examplary life of Gathapati Ananda that he has been so much celebrated in the literature and the scriptures of the Jains. The ideal qualities that have made him so famous were as follows:-(1) He tried to live according to the instructions of the Lord without any hesitation and disbelief in his words. ' 2 ) He did not want to get more than he had because he knew that one who hankered after money had to · humiliate himself in one way or other. He said to himself, “ He who gets wealth becomes proud and he who loses it feels sad. Therefore, he alone is happy who is contented and is not eager to get more. Wealh is the source of all troubles it cannot be earned without hard labour and pain; then there is
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
