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Her fingers started burning, then her entire palm, but the woman did not withdraw her hand. Not only that, there was a remarkable smile on her face. Eventually, the Officer agreed and with a smile on her face, the woman jumped into the fire.
Didn't Bhagat Singh also meet his death with a smile? In our extraordinary Jain order, we come across numerous such examples. Each one of Khandhaksoori's 500 disciples was eager to be the first to be crushed in the mechanical oil mill, before his other colleagues. If death appeared to them as a source of unhappiness, there would not have been a competition, like the one between the disciples nor would there have been a smile on the woman's face before jumping onto the pyre.
So, the fact that, only that which makes a soul unhappy can be considered as unhappiness, is affirmed,
(1) If, by thinking the stepmother to be evil you retaliate, nature will give you greater punishment. Instead, by thinking your karmas to be wicked and suffering the stepmother's afflictions with equanimity, nature will compensate you in a big way. It is equally true that when one hopes for a great reward, the badgering taken by one does not feel like unhappiness.
(2) A person, who is not used to lifting even 2-3 kgs. of weight, will find it cumbersome lifting 5 kgs. of weight. On the other hand, a person who is capable of heaving a load of 10 kgs., does not find it painful. One saint has prayed to the Lord in the following beautiful words, “O Lord! I do not ask that my burden be lessened. I only ask for my back, which carries the burden, to be stronger."
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