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teaching did not tell one to withdraw from life, to deny living, to give up feeling; rather, it taught how to know one's motives and how to reduce one's dependency on outside things. His father had experienced a sense of lightness and freedom. Why? Because he had conquered his need and had come to depend on himself. With the removal of desire, the pain was removed. With the removal of pain came the real experience of his life. With this homecoming to himself, his father had felt a surge of energy and well-being. With this energy, he knew what to do to dedicate his life to a higher purpose, in this case, to the raising of his two small children.
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Always Munishree had liked to keep someone in his life as a model to him of meaningful living. In his school days, he had admired one teacher who liked to lift two students up onto his shoulders at the same time, saying, "Do you want to be like me? I came from only one drop! Only one drop of energy has made this one strong human being! It is easy! The secret is this: conserve your energy, be single-pointed. Don't waste your energy here and there in so many different directions. Wasting energy, you go many miles and end up nowhere; investing it, you make something out of your life."
In his years with Gandhiji, as Rup, he had been moved by the inner conviction which radiated from this fragile-looking man. He saw that the real meaning of any teaching is how much you practice it. He admired his father as a living example of what he believed.
Jain Education International
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Munishree was inspired to intensify his search, to go deeper within to find that truth of living he admired in those who lived the teachings.
Let me build my willpower, my power of truth and nonviolence. I am nothing but a presentation of my consciousness. If my conviction in ahimsa is pure, unpolluted by doubt or fear, then my life can become a joy to myself and a gift to the world. It can make room in somebody's heart to forgive, to stop inflicting pain, and to start living for life.
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