Book Title: Comtemporary Jain Legends
Author(s): Atmanandji Maharaj
Publisher: Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram

Previous | Next

Page 106
________________ free from cold. It was a night of very severe cold and yet Maharaj Shri and his disciples passed that night in such an inconvenient place. (2) Once Maharaj Shri came to a railway station at Basi and many times sadhus, saints, mendicants were allowed to pass night in such small railway stations. But the present stationmaster declined and asked them to go in the nearby village. One person said there was small rooms just near by the roadside and they may stay there overnight. It was only 15 minutes left for sunset. The small room was very old and it was a risk to stay in. It was almost a hut and can be pulled down by a little pressure. There was no door. The floor was badly uneven. It was full of dust. There were footprints of wild animals also. In spite of this, the group with Maharaj Shree passed their night in such a place without any impatience or unrest in mind. (3) Once Mooni Shri Ratnachandraji was returning from Ajmer. He came to a railway station named Eranpura Road. He started on foot from here. According to a guidebook, one small railway station named Kotar was nearby. Maharaj Shri and his disciples reached Kotar just at the time of sunset. The station was merely a lonely place and there was no stationmaster also. At a little distance, a railway joint-man was residing in a small room. He allowed Maharaj Shri and his disciples to stay at the railway station for the night. At night the group had completed Pratikraman and other religious rites and they were simply talking. At about half past nine, a constable came. He knew Maharaj Shree to some extent. The constable said, "This station was not lonely like this before some years, but there are repeated thefts here since last three-four years and two-three station masters were looted and severely beaten. Hence this station is useless. The guard of the train himself gives the tickets to the passengers when the train arrives. One train comes at ten o'clock night and the other at ten o'clock morning. I have to be present here before half an hour of the time of arrival of the train. Many trains come and go after ten hours but none of them has stoppage at this station. The thieves meet together here at about mid-night and you have put at such a place of acute danger. It is not safe to stay here. So you all come to me at my room which at about quarter of a mile from here. Maharaj Shri Ratnachandraji heard this and said, "Brother! We cannot move to some other place at night. We have nothing which the thieves will take away from us." All the mendicants and Maharaj stayed there only. There was heavy rain at night and no thieves came there and the Moonies passed their night very peacefully. On the other day when going from this place, they met with a tiger but the group maintained total silence. The tiger continued walking on his way and thus went away. Maharaj Shri and his disciples were experiencing great hardships in getting food and water in unknown place were there were no Jains. If they had to pass through a railway station, and the village is far away, they would request the engine driver that would allow them to drink hot water of railway engine. During his movements in village of Punjab in cold days, he was getting hot water to drink but no body was heating water in summer and hence he could not get hot water to drink in summer. He had, therefore, to do with buttermilk. He could not get buttermilk or water in a village named Sahadara, which is at a distance of about five miles from Lahore. Villagers used to sell their milk at Lahore and never prepared curd from which buttermilk can be obtained. As such he could get food to eat but nothing to drink. At about five o'clock evening, a factory was started and he could get hot water to drink. Maharaj Shri and his disciples drank this hot water and then took some food. 106

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183