Essence of Jainism Part 02

Author(s): Kushalchandravijay
Publisher: 108 jain Tirth Darshan Trust

Page 68

him ? Indra replied, 'Gautamswami'. The Lord continued to enquire further, Whom do you doubt now-Gautam or myself ?' Indra was taken aback. He replied that he doubted none. He explained that he had asked only out of desire to know the truth. Lord Mahavir replied, 'listen thou carefully, to understand how the chain of events have moved. Once, 1 killed a lion when I was Vasudev. The lion that was killed, was reborn as this farmer. Hence on seeing me the past memories stirred and he felt repulsion towards me, He ran away. When past event happened, Gautam had been my Charioteer. He consoled the dying lion by saying you had been killed in physical combat not by an ordinary man but by a great personage. As you are the Lord of the forest, so he is the Lord of men- a Vasudev. As the lion had died thus pacified by Gautam, the soul of the lion naturally responded with respect for Gautam in his present life as a farmer.'
Others will behave with you in the same way as you behave with them. To cultivate love for virtues and to praise and be glad about them as we perceive the virtuous persons is 'PRAMOD BHAVANA'.
(3) KARUNA COMPASSION : It is a natural response of love for those who are poor and distressed and who are in fear and desire to be saved.
To feel sorry for those who do not listen to the advice of the elders and Gurus and who not only lack faith in religion, but shy away from it in revulsion, knowing what fate will overtake such persons as punishment for their behaviour; and try to save them from it.
Compassion is of two kinds-Dravya Karuna and Bhava Karuna.
Dravya Karuna is to provide relief to the distressed and the poor. When we bring relief to those who were afflicted with sickness, sadness, poverty, tortures from others, were entrapped with no escape to save their lives, were suffering from hunger, thirst, exhaustion, cold and heat, were deprived of livelihood, were harassed though innocent, and were suffering the agonies of death.
Such an act of providing relief is called 'DRAVYA KARUNA'. It removes the sympoms of misery but not its root-cause.
Bhava Kaurna : To feel sorry for the lack of religion in life of others. To think what will happen to those unfortunate ones and how they live in vain. To take piety, thinking what will happen to
39