Bhagvana Mahavira

Author(s): Tulsi Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 32

Bhagavān Mahāvīra
One who is not able to distinguish between the soul and the body attaches value to the body, but one who has the right knowledge to distinguish between the two puts a premium on the soul alone. For him living for the body is no life at all. He lives in order to liberate the soul from the bondage of the world. It is necessary to free oneself from the limitations imposed by the body in order that the soul might be liberat. ed. Fasting is a part and parcel of this process of liberation. Fasting leads a man into the independent world of the soul. The prince had attained this state and renounced the world. Only those who have attained self-enlightenment can renounce the world.
Vardhamāna's renunciation was marked by rejoicings in the family. Young girls sang songs of joy and the sky resounded with the music of instruments. The bards recited auspicious hymns. There was a happy commotion everywhere. But Vardhamāna sat engulfed in his own loneliness, forgetful of the noisy atmosphere.
Seated in a palanquin the prince left home for the Jõātakhanda forest. Nandivardhana and Supärśva and a crowd of thousands of people ascorted him to the forest. The prince alighted from the palanquin, stood under an Aśoka tree, took off the householder's garments and became a nirgrantha (ascetic). The strain of music stopped and everyone began to gaze at the prince. Nature seemed to be engulfed in a strange calmness. The prince plucked off the hair of his head and stood looking towards the horizon between the east and the north. His face beamed with joy and a divine light shone on his forehead. The whole atmosphere pulsated with jny and enthusiasm. Folding both his hands, the prince said, "I bow to the Perfect Beings.” As soon as he had dedicated himself to the attainment of liberation, his egotism and attachment disappeared. He resolved whole-heartedly to follow the principle of equanimity and not to do any action born of attachment or aversion. Attachment and aversion