________________
Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
162
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
agreed to send the girl, the next day. Accordingly, he sent his daughter with him the next day.
He set off with his wife towards his village. On the way, they had to cross a river. The wife was waiting for an opportunity to tease her husband. Now, she got an excellent opportunity. She said, "My dear husband, my feet and toes are decorated with myrtle colour. If I wade through the river, it will be washed away. So, take me across the river in such a way that the water does not touch my feet." She wanted to enjoy a ride on his shoulders. The husband also was a physically strong fellow. He understood the meaning of her words and said, "Very good, I will manage it in such a way that the myrtle on your feet remains intact."
Carrying her on his chest with her feet upwards he began to wade through the water. Since her head was in the water, she could not breathe and so she died. Carrying her thus, he came to his village. He said to the people, "See here, I have brought my wife from my father-in-law's house." Someone said, "I say she is dead.' The gentleman narrated the entire story and said, "Her life might have gone but the colour remains."
The people of the village laughed heartily at his foolishness. In the same manner we too carry the corpse of religious rituals and we become objects of ridicule because in our austerities there is no life. It is essential that we should fill our rituals with life (i.e. meaning) and carry them out with proper understanding of their significance. Our religion does not command us to carry its dead body. It commands us not to show off but to be sincere in our religious austerities.
A certain priest one day said to his wife, "Today don't prepare food for me because I have received an invitation from the Emperor to go to the palace and to read out the hymns of prayer. After the prayers there will be a royal banquet. They will serve delicious dishes and I will eat to my satisfaction. Therefore, it does not matter if I do not take food at home and remain hungry for sometime."
For Private And Personal Use Only
