Chitrabhanu Man with Vision

Author(s): Clare Rosenfield
Publisher: Jain Meditation International Centre New York

Page 80

Śatruñjaya. That will console you and help you find peace.”
Rup agreed with him. "Yes, dear Father, I remember it from the times you and I went there on pilgrimages. I would like to go there. And some saint, some sage must be living in that area who can help me to help myself.”
A few days later, he embraced his father and boarded a train for Palitana. As the wheels of the train turned, he heard them as if they were vibrating with the sound of Gandhiji's words -- "Live in light! Live in light!"
Yes, I want to move toward that light. 1 want to see clearly what I am and illumine all the mystery of life and death. That light must be somewhere. Some day I will find it.
The train slowed down as it came within twelve miles of the town. All of a sudden the flat plains dotted here and there with gnarled and sprawling banyan trees gave way to a spectacular view. In the distance were the soft mounds and rounded hills of the sacred mountain to which he had come. As they rose gently before his eyes, they beckoned to him with a peaceful flowing magnetism, “Come unto me! Have no fear! Your search begins from here! Great discoveries await you!"
Satruñjaya
Rising to a height of nearly two thousand feet, Satruñjaya stands luminous to the inner eye, radiantly mirroring the purity of soul. To all who climb its slopes, it is an inspiration. Even before the temples which crown its summit were built, seekers for thousands and thousands of generations had gone in search of the height of themselves by mounting to its peaks. It is known as a tirth, a symbolic bridge of awareness through whose help one can cross the river of life. Here the pilgrim journeys to cross over from the shore of pain to the shore of peace, from the turbulence of bondage to the calm bliss of emancipation.
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