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48
I am the Soul
The Brahman thought, “Good fellow, trying to pass the buck to King Janaka. What's so great about Janaka? He is so engrossed in the worldly pleasures, what is he going to make me understand? Well, let's try him out. This seems like a great day, I have got a chance to cut Janaka to size. Calls himself a great enlightened videhi, eh? Let's show the world how shallow this Janaka is”.
He reached Mithila and was soon at the Palace door. He did not need a permission to go in. In those days, Brahmans and Jains, these two groups commanded such respect and faith that not just Palaces, they had free access even to the private quarters of the Queens. They did not have to flash any visiting cards like you do now. Brothers! Consider this. In those days, the image of a Jain was so that a follower of Jineshwar was bound to have a flawlessly exemplary character, that he would be chaste and noble. The King would be least bothered if a Jain went to the Queen without any permission.
What is the state now? Do I have to say? You know better than I, as to who's what in the society today. I only know you as you present yourself here. I do not know of what goes on beyond these walls. Yet it is true that Jains today cannot command the same prestige. We have ourselves to blame for this. Do pardon me, but I mean to ask whether you really command respect when you go someplace as a Jain. You may be proclaiming with a great fanfare that there is no religion like Jainism, but can you say with pride that there could be no match for the diligence, conduct and truthfulness of a Jain. No you cannot say so. Why? Where is the moral fabric? It's lost. The same Jains who commanded respect amidst the Kings have lost it in the society today. Isn't that a matter of shame? The Jains are not Jains enough any more.
Well, coming back to the Brahman, he barged into the palace without any permission. When he asked a maid about the whereabouts of King Janaka, he was told that the King was in
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