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THE WAY TO KNOWLEDGE IS PAVED
WITH HUMILITY
BAHUBALI became an ascetic on the battlefield, but there was still a tinge of pride in him. He thought that he could be omniscient and then go to see his father, Adinátha, so that he would not have to kneel before his brothers who, though younger in years, had donned the ascetic's garb before him.
To attain omniscience, he undertook the most arduous penance. He sat unperturbed in the scorching heat and the biting cold and the pouring rain as if he were made of stone. Even creepers twined round his body and birds built their nests in his ears. He felt nothing, knew nothing; so lost was he in his meditation.
But he failed to acquire what he had so ardently longed for—the spark of divine knowledge--for his penance was marred by his overweening pride.
Bhagwan Adinatha, however, out of his boundless compassion, took pity on this erring but steadfast devotee, and he sent Bahubali's two saintly sisters to point out to their vain brother, the futility of his penance and meditation. They set out on their mission and called out to him, "Brother, Brother! Climb down from the elephant if you wish to acquire, omniscience of divine knowledge. The winds of pride that blow at the height where you are seated, snuff out the flickering flame of Enlighten
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