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acquired by his misdeeds. In his old age, with permission from Lord Mahavir, he adopted Sanlekhana (avoiding food & staying in meditation until death). After his death he was born in heaven.
The theme here focuses on honesty & the principle of non-stealing. One should not steal from others even if one intends to donate the stolen items to the poor. Wrongdoing is still wrongdoing regardless of how much good you are doing in the other areas. One must repent in order to destroy the bad karmas that accumulate as a result of wrongdoing.
through the human form. Even heavenly beings cannot attain liberation without being born as human beings. So we should realize how fortunate we are to have this human birth, & we should make the most of it & wash away as many bad Karma as we can. Also, we look at the power of Lord Mahavirs sermon. Just a few words from his sermon saved & then ultimately changed Rohiney's life forever. Imagine the benefit of listening to all His teachings. Unfortunately, we cannot listen to His sermons directly, but we have his teachings available to us as Agams. We should study & understand the Agams as much we can so that our lives can change for the better just like that of Rohineya.
The second thing we learn from this story is that we can attain liberation only
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your selfconfidence, as old as your tear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair, In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber. So long as it receives messages of Beauty, Hope, Cheer & Courage, So long you are young. When your heart os covered with the Snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and then only, are you grown old. And then, indeed as the balled Says, you just fade away.
Stories During Bhagwan Mahavir's Life
