Jain Spirit 2001 12 No 09

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 36

LIFESTYLE
RISK MAKES LIFE
Ram Vaidya explores the joy of imprudence
WATERCOLOUR BY SHYAM HIMANSHU, AGED 7 NAIROBI, EXHIBITED AT GLIMPSES OF JAINSM, JUNE 2000
his own life at risk. In fact, this was very typical of Krishna. He lived a life full of risks and as a result we can say that he "truly lived". That is, we refer to the word "lived" in its fullest possible sense.
Risk is the essence of life. It is risk that provides a real sense of living. In Sanskrit there is a saying: "Yo Jeevati Sa Jeevati", meaning: he who lives a meaningful life, truly lives.
What therefore makes a life meaningful? This is really quite a difficult question to answer. Every day, we breathe. From morning to evening we carry out our daily duties. From childhood to old age we behave according to the stages of life we are in. We make efforts to stay close with our friends and relatives as we proceed through life and we aspire to enjoy ourselves. Our main concern throughout this time is perhaps the safety and well-being of ourselves and those close to us. Indeed, we tend to go out of our way to avoid trouble with safety foremost on our minds. At some point however, we become aware that eventually we will face death. After all, no one can avoid this inevitability.
This well trodden path of life has become the accepted norm. We condition our minds so that we make a concerted effort to live according to this way. It seems we feel that our lives should only be lived prudently. Why then, did Krishna put his life at risk? The approach to life described above fails to provide any basis for a logical answer to this question.
Yadavrao Joshi, a senior worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), when having discussions with youngsters would often make one particular point by posing a series of questions. First of all, he would ask the youngsters whether they knew their father's name. Naturally, all of them would be able to answer this. Then he would ask them if they knew their grandfather's name. Most of them were still able to do this too. Next he would ask them if they were able to give their great-grandfather's name. The number of youngsters who could answer this question would be significantly less and, when asked whether anyone could give the name of their great-great grandfather, in most cases none of them would be able to do so.
Having enquired about their relatives, Joshiji would ask the youngsters whether they had heard of Shivaji Maharaj. All of them would respond positively in a puzzled manner, as ifto say, "Of course, why would not we have heard of him?" Joshiji would then retort by asking them why it is that they could not provide just the names of some of their own relatives yet they knew a lot about the life of someone who existed long before their great-grandfathers. The point of all the questions
Painting: Lord Mahavir retains his equanimity, compassion and fearlessness in face of the evil serpent
Chandakaushik
URING MY CHILDHOOD I USED TO LISTEN TO MANY STORIES recited by my mother. There was a religious atmosphere
in the house and therefore the stories of the Ramayana and Mahabharata were particularly popular. Among these there was one story involving Krishna, which particularly caught my attention.
According to the story, there were many snakes in the Yamuna River. Despite being fully aware of the highly poisonous nature of these snakes, the young Krishna valiantly fought them when required to do so and on one occasion managed to defeat the largest of all these dangerous snakes. In doing so Krishna had put
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Jain Spirit . December 2001 - February 2002