Jain Journal 1975 10

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 38

OCTOBER, 1975
What should I tell to goddess Lakshmi who is itching to coronate you with the royal crown. I am in the sunset of my life, and am becoming weak and feeble. Don't you think that it is the moral duty of a son to support his old father.
[Vardhaman is quiet]
Siddhartha :
My son, why don't you speak? Will not our subject follow the path of rectitude under the leadership of a king so righteous as you. Will not all the ills of our kingdom end under your statesmanship. Can anybody possibly suffer in your reign ? You can declare nonviolence as the national creed. By your prowess you can crush all your enemies and can protect not only your subject but mankind as a whole. By making the world happy, you can make yourself also happy and content.
Vardhaman :
But the happiness which comes out of practising austerity far exceeds the happiness which comes out of ruling over a country. Royalty may breed enmity and malice ; but asceticism breeds amity and friendliness alike towards the lion and the cow, the snake and the mongoose, the cat and the mouse. A recluse is in constant enjoyment of inner happiness--neither perturbed by desires nor worked up by malice !
Siddhartha :
There can be no two opinions that penance is the highest form of accomplishment. I do want you to practise penance and derive the pleasure born of it. But Lord Parshvanath first practised the householder's Dharma for thirty years, then he spent the next seventy years as an ascetic, doing good to humanity. And then at the age of hundred he obtained Nirvana in deep meditation at Sammet Shikhar. So do I wish you to obtain salvation after lot of penance and austerity. But all this should follow after you have reigned over your kingdom for a few years. While you reign, you will acquaint yourself better with human nature, human conduct and human behaviour. This understanding will help you in finding your own way for human salvation. Above all, it is my ardent wish that you should be