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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
170
Lord Mahāvira. After being enlightened thus, if we roar we can see how the passions and attachments run away from us like those jackals. No one will be able to terrify or to disturb us.
A certain gentleman used to salute ascetics. He also used to salute the locks of his shop and his cash-box everyday. Why did he do so? He did so on account of the fear that Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth might get angry with him and go away from him. On account of his superstition he saluted the goddess of wealth with sincere devotion but he saluted the ascetics as a matter of formality just to show that he was a pious person. On one hand he
erformed the ritual of Pratikramaņa, and recited to get rid of the eighteen sins; and counted the beads of his rosary uttering the name of the Lord and on the other hand, he would sit near his iron safe upto mid-night and would count the bundles of currency notes. In this manner, he used to play a double-role. The accumulation of wealth itself becomes a source of fear. Someone presented a golden brick to Guru Gorakhnath. Placing the gold brick in his bag, he was travelling accompanied by his disciple. Wherever they halted on the way, he asked his disciple, Mathsyendranath, “Is there any cause of fear here?" On hearing this question several times from him, the disciple desired to know the cause for his preceptor's fear. On the way, they halted near a well. Leaving the bag with disciple he went to take a bath. The disciple noticed the golden brick in the bag. He took it out and threw it into the well, and he placed in the bag a stone of the same weight.
After completing their bath and prayers they proceeded on their way. When, on their way, they had to halt for a while the preceptor said, "I think, there is no cause of fear here." The disciple said, “What is it that ascetics can fear? The thing that was causing you fear is not there in the bag. I threw it into the well."
The preceptor noticed that there was only a stone in his bag. Throwing away the stone, he thanked his disciple for freeing him from his fear. Shankarāchārya has said,
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