Comtemporary Jain Legends

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

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Every one should have a disciplined behavior. (1) Adopt truthfulness in dealing with others (ii) Beg pardon for lapses immediately for faults (iii) Do not act against the social rules or directions of religious books. (iv) Keep in the company of good persons (v) Save yourself from bad company (vi) Take advantage from the preachings of saints and always think of Almighty (vii) Maintain good reading and hear good talks, (viii) Do not cast evil sight on another's wife or husband.
Property Gained By Undeserving Methods:
You can earn and enjoy so much by black-marketing, theft, cheating, corruption etc., but this will be with you only upto your good deeds of previous lives are forceful. As soon as this force expires, you will have to surrender to Yamraj (God of death) leaving your wealth, relatives etc., down unearth. None of your relatives or friends can save you at that time. You will have to suffer severe pains for all your misdeeds. It is, therefore, necessary that you should do good deeds with your wealth and other means so that they may help you in your next lives.
Service of Saints and Colleagues:
The Lord has cited four aspects of the Sangh-i.e. Jain community: mendicants, Shravaks and Shravikas (Shravaks and Shravikas are family-holders). They must be taught, they must be respected by giving them clothes and other necessities, to propagate religion for the development of society, to ask others to do so, to be in service of such persons whole-heartedly, to spend money for their service because by such acts you create piety. The men doing such deeds develop themselves and go to their desired place. This piety brings an end.
Always Follow Discipline:
Always respect the words of teachers and elders. Do not doubt upon their advice. This is discipline. You get knowledge, prestige and advantage of heard knowledge through discipline and your credit expands like oil poured on water. He gets respect from all. A man without discipline is rejected and abused wherever he goes. He becomes unhappy. Therefore, adopt total discipline so that you can earn happiness in this life as well as in coming lives.
Discipline takes man to the top of human life. Even if a man is highly learned, efficient, honest and with good wealth, he cannot get respect from others if he does not maintain discipline. A man without discipline can not have other virtues like love, patience, sympathy, and deep thinking etc. because he remains constantly worried about his failures in life. It is the direction of great teachers that you maintain absolute discipline except in the following eight types of circumstances: 1. At the time of singing 2. At the time of dancing, 3. When pleading and discussing matters with others, 4. When studying, 5. In battlefield, 6. When fighting with enemy, 7. When taking dinner and 8. When deciding upon family relations.
Development of Virtues:
One is human in the light o truth, bravery, charity and restraint. A man without these virtues is without humanity. He wanders in darkness. A man must, therefore, develop patience, sympathy, simplicity, virtuousness, truthfulness, justice, self-confidence and detachment if he wants to be great among
men.
True Learning and Scholarship:
That is only true learning and scholarship, in which they're sincere efforts for self-correction, love for the world and development towards subjective pleasures. A learned man will see every living being with equal sympathy and love. He will follow religion with devotion. He will not be selfish or deceitful. Then only he can attain total bliss for himself and for others. These are the views of policy-makers. It
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