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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
138
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
worldly life will naturally take place if we attain maturity in thinking, firmness of mind and purity of heart. By such a renunciation, the person who makes it gets real felicity or bliss.
A certain ascetic had with him a parasmani (a philosopher's stone). It was believed traditionally that if it was brought into contact with iron, the touch would transmute that piece of iron into gold. A poor man served the ascetic for some months with a genuine devotion. Greatly pleased by his devotion and service, the ascetic told him to ask for something in return for his service. He asked for the parasmani and the ascetic gave it to him
at once.
The poor man felt very happy and returned home with the parasmani. After telling the members of his family about the wonderful and miraculous pārasmani he put it in a large iron vessel. The stone was in the vessel a whole day but the vessel did not turn into gold. The members of his family began making fun of him. He himself felt greatly sad and disappointed since the parasmaṇi did not transmute the iron vessel into a gold one. He thought that the service he had rendered to the ascetic for so many months had been a waste, and that the ascetic had given him some ordinary stone concealing from him the pārasmani.
The very next day he went to the place where the ascetic was in a state of spiritual trance. After waking up from his trance, the ascetic noticing tears in the eyes of his devotee asked him, "Tell me brother, why you are sad. Could you not get rid of your poverty even with the help of the parasmani? Did any one steal that stone from you ?"
The poor man replied, "Revered Sir! The pārasmaṇi which you gave me proved itself to be an ordinary stone. How can an ordinary stone change iron into gold?" The ascetic said, "No brother, you are wrong. What I gave you was the parasmani. There must be some lapse in your handling of it."
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