Bhavana Bodh

Author(s): Shrimad Rajchandra
Publisher: Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram

Page 50

BHAVANA BODH
without doctors or physicians. To this, Mrugaputra replied :- You are right, but you should also think about birds and animals like deer in this world; they are alone and have none to cure them off their diseases.
Just as a deer moves in a jungle or a forest so will I move in my forest of saintly life and I shall love and observe seventeen kinds of pure restraints. I shall practise twelve kinds of penances and move as an observer like a deer. He again repeated, when a deer catches a disease in the forest, then who acts as a physician to cure it? Who is nearby to help the ailing deer? Who gives it needed medical care? Who inquires about its joy, peace and happiness? Who brings to it food and water? Just as such a deer, after getting freed from its ailments, goes to a lake in the forest, and eating grass and drinking water of the lake, starts moving as before, so will 1 behave in my ascetic life. Just as the deer bears patiently all adventitious diseases, ailments and other troubles so will i patiently endure and suffer whatever falls to my lot while moving alone as an ascetic. My life will be used to all sorts of restraints; As the deer continuously moves having no stable place as its abode, so shall ! keep moving from place to place with no permanent abode anywhere. Thus I shall be free as a deer in a forest. I shall always avoid subjects, prohibited by my religion. Just as the deer inspects what grass and water are beneficial to it so I shall select food and water, which my religion advises me to take and thus I shall easily bear the burden of hardness of ascetic life. I shall never blame the householder for offering me disagreeable food nor shall I speak ill of him and such restraint I shall observe. "Evam Putta JahasukhamO Son ! Act as you feel happy !" Thus the parents permitted Mrugaputra to get initiated to ascetic living. Thus obtaining parents' permission, Mrugaputra left his worldly life as a cobra serpent leaves its skin and paid attention to the rules of his new ascetic life. He adopted a life of strict restraints and left forever gold, lovely wife, friend, son, community and all relatives and companions, just as one shakes a cloth to throw away dust from it, Mrugaputra cleared himself off all attachments and left for getting himself initiated to