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THE BIRTH OF A BEAUTIFUL HOME
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through these gates and practise our Dharma,' the villager replied. 'Which are the four gates? the visitor asked, to which the young man replied, 'The first gate is called Forgiveness. Only he can enter the worshiping place who has cultivated the power of forbearance and shuns all forms of disagreeable treatment or insulting behaviour towards others. The second gate is Freedom from reactive behaviour. It enjoins on the people to consume and utilize materialistic objects without getting attached to them. The third gate is Ingenuousness. Our mutual dealings are infused with the spirit of ingenuousness. Our behaviour is frank. No one deceives the other. Since our behaviour is free from hypocrisy or affectation, we are people of integrity. No one indulges in false weights and measures. The fourth gate is Modesty. All of us behave amicably and gently with others. The thread of gentleness and modesty keeps us united.'
Finally the visitor asked, “Who is the deity worshipped here?' The name of the deity is Righteousness (dharma devata).' 'How is the idol created?' "The idol of Righteousness is made from the alloy of three metals: ahimsa, self-restraint and austerity. By worshipping it, we have been blessed with the knowledge of amity and the power of self-restraint. All the villagers exercise restraint over consumption even though we have a lot to consume. There is neither a superiority complex nor any inferiority complex. The worship of Dharma blessed us with the boon of austerity. We are not comfortloving. We know how to live a hard life. We do not play truant from toil. We make little use of the means of comfort, so most of our people are very healthy. We constantly endeavour for emotional development. This makes us mentally healthy too. Our village is inhabited by good families. This is the reason that you find an environment of peace here. The visitor said, ‘Friend, you have given me a new philosophy, a new outlook. It is now that I have got an opportunity to be acquainted with
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