Drushtant Kathao

Author(s): Shrimad Rajchandra, Dinubhai M Patel
Publisher: Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram

Page 34

Bhavnabodh - Nivrutti Bodh diseases, ailments and other trouble so I will 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 I 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 advices me to take and thus | 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 Jahasukham - O Son ! Act as you feel happy !" Thus the parents permitted Mrugaputra to get initiated to ascetic living. Thus obtaining parent's 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, wealth, wife, friend, son, community and all relatives and companions, just as one shakes a cloth to throw away dust from it, Mrugaputra cleared himself of all attachments and left for getting himself initiated to the new ascetic life. He adopted five holy great vows; he became well adorned with five Samitis. He also adopted three Gupties (Trigupti). He also accepted twelve penances - external and internal (Dwadash Tapa). He cast aside all sense of mineness; he became egoless, got freedom from contacts of women etc.. He began to behave with equanimity towards all living souls. He became unaffected by situations of getting food and water or going without it; of facing happiness or sorrow; of facing life or death, of hearing praises or abuses, of getting honour or dishonour. He became unattached to all excellences, all tastes and all sorts of happiness that one takes pride in having them. He quietly got freed from mental, vocal and bodily punishments. He got freed from four Kashayas. He became unattached to three Shalyas i.e. Maya Shalya, Nidan Shalya hyatva Shalya. He became free from seven types of great fear. He set aside laughter and worry. He became bereft of Nidan. He got freed from the bindings of attachment and hatred. In short, he got freed from all desires; freed from all kinds of enjoyments. He became equanimous if one would cut him with a saw or one would apply sandalwood ointment on his body. To him all these were equal. He closed all doors of entry of sins. He became praiseworthy by leading ascetic life of religious discipline with a pure heart. He solely dedicated himself to the essence of Lord Jinendra's principles. He adorned himself with the excellency of twenty five aspirations - five for each Mahavrata (great vows) flawlessly. Thus passing away many years of his ascetic life that great enlightened prince Mrugaputra, in the end, observing fast for continuously one month, attained highest state of liberation. Lesson :- The life story of Mrugaputra is given here to strengthen the aspiration of getting free from worldly life as one of the tweleve soul saving contemplation, determined by great philosophers with solid proof. By discriminative intelligence one can easily see that wandering in worldly cycles of birth and death, brings one infinite pain and misery and to stop this suffering, Mrugaputra the enlightened young great ascetic, has described to his parents all sorts of tortures and torments of hell from which there is no moment of joy or peace and all this inspires one to adopt a life of renunciation and total non-attachment. The inconvenience and privations to be suffered in ascetic life, which amount to external unhappiness, are regarded as total unhappiness; and the unbearable suffering endlessly visiting worldly life are regarded as happiness from quite external physical considerations. How strange delusion is this? The difficulties, one has to face while leading an ascetic life, are quite nominal or nothing as 28