Jain Story Book

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 43

commanded respect from all the people; he had beautiful wives and well behaved sons; he had obedient servants; he had enough wealth and other possessions inclusive of many elephants, horses etc. How could he be called helpless or shelterless? The Muni again smiled and said that Shrenik had not understood what he intended to convey by calling him helpless. He therefore asked the king to patiently hear why he had become a Muni.
The Muni said that he was the resident of Kaushambi. He was the son of a very wealthy father. He had affectionate brothers and sisters. He had a beautiful, lovely, good natured wife who loved him with all her heart. He had thus all the happiness and material comforts that the worldly life could provide. And he actually enjoyed the life in every respect. Once however, he got severe eye pain. It soon got very acute and unbearable. His whole body was severely afflicted by burning sensation. All his relatives and friends got together. They were very much agitated to witness the pain that he was undergoing. His father immediately called for the expert physicians. They tried hard to stop the pain by administering different medications, but failed to provide any relief. Muni felt very miserable when their expertise could not help even in reducing the pain. His father was willing to spend any amount for relieving him of the pain. Nothing however helped. His parents tried to console him with affectionate soothing words, but that did not any way help in reducing the pain. His brothers and sisters also could not do anything in the matter. His lovely wife was all the time sitting by his side and was delicately caressing his body. Simultaneously, she was sobbing and cursing herself that her efforts did not prove to be of any help to her husband. She and others applied sandalwood and other different types of perfumed soothing pastes; but none of them proved of any help.
So, he realized that no type of expertise and no amount of love of his beloved or the affection of his close relatives were of any avail to him. When all their efforts and all the wealth of his father failed to produce any relief, he felt most miserable. A sense of total helplessness overtook him. He could see that such types of afflictions that arise in life, are mostly beyond any body's control. Only the afflicted person had to bear the pain. He could thus realize from his own experience that worldly happiness is ephemeral and unreliable. It is fraught with many dangers. He could also conjecture that many types of afflictions, he must have faced on different occasions in the earlier lives. He could not however visualize ultimate end of such afflictions. He therefore decided that if he got cured of the pain, he would renounce the worldly life and seek lasting happiness. This decision gave him badly needed internal strength. He could close his eyes and fell asleep.
When he woke up, his pain had almost gone. All his relatives felt much relieved to notice that he was no longer experiencing the pain. After a while, he explained to them what he had decided while undergoing the pain. Eventually, he secured permission from all of them to renounce the worldly life and to become the Muni. Since he had undergone real helplessness while bearing the pain, he had decided to call himself Anathi which means helpless. His sole endeavor was now to seek lasting happiness. He then asked the king whether he could protect himself or any one else from the physical afflictions and other miseries that come across from time to time. The king had to admit that he was helpless in the matter. Muni then pointed out that on that very account he had addressed the king as helpless.
The Muni then explained that people in general try to gain material comforts and other worldly happiness that unfortunately happen to be short lived. They therefore feel miserable when that so
called happiness comes to an end. It should always be kept in mind that seeking material comforts cannot be our ultimate objective. We should look beyond the horizon and try to gain spiritual well being that lasts and stays beyond the life. Seeking worldly happiness, in a way,
amounts to pursuing the mirage. People however willingly undergo all types of hardships for gaining the ephemeral happiness; while they blissfully stay forgetful of the soul that lasts forever and is the source of enduring happiness. The king could see the truth of what Muni said. He felt ashamed that he had invited the Muni to enjoy worldly happiness. He therefore begged pardon for his foolish gesture. Then bowing the Muni with all humbleness, Shrenik went back to
Räjgruhi.