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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
117
what thi merely tried to se do not want either
The man said, "It may be Rs. 6 per kg.”
The Preceptor said, “What may be the price of a pair of shoes in Delhi?"
The man said, “The price of a pair of shces including tax will be Rs. 176, but a pair of finer leathershoes may cost Rs. 165. Which shoes do you prefer?”
The Preceptor said, “I do not want either rice or shoes. I merely tried to search your mind and see with what things your mind is filled. I have found that your mind is full of Bombay, Delhi, Basamati and such things. I have not been able to see any question or doubt in any corner of your mind. You can get an answer to your question only if you come to me with that question in your mind and nothing else. You will get no answer if you ask me questions about God with your mind full of the whole world. Before asking the question free your mind of all other ideas and then come to me."
The devotion for God should be spontaneous and natural. It cannot be forced on any one. A friend askcd a great priest, "Can you make me a devotee of God?”
The priest said, “Why not? Look, I will jump down the roof of your house, nothing will happen to me if I utter the name of God and that will make you believe in God's power.”
The friend said, “By nhance, many people are not injured when they jump down a roof. Why do you drag poor God into this affair?”
The priest said, "If I escape unhurt once you may say I escaped by chance, but if I am not hurt even when I jump down a second time what would you say?"
The friend said, “Even that is by chance. You speak of jumping down from the roof of your house but many people escape unhurt even when they fall down from an aeroplane. That is a mere coincidence, or a mere matter of luck that is all.”
The priest said, "If for the third time, I jump down from the roof of a high temple uttering the name of God
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