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Non-Violence: A Way of Life
the snake. He caught the snake at its tail-end, shook it and threw off. The second lesson that Vardhaman teaches is that of fearlessness, intrepidity. Without fearlessness, there cannot be spiritual development. All frighten him who fears. Nobody can stand up to a man who is fearless.
In order to test Vardhaman's fearlessness, one god took the form of a nauseating person. When he was eight, Vardhaman was playing with other children on the outskirts of the city. The rule of the game was that the winner would sit on the back of the boy, who had lost the game. The god assumed the form of a child, came to play there and according to his own plan he lost the game. He let Vardhaman sit on back. But all of a sudden he transformed himself into a giant, as tall as seven palm-trees. The god uttered sharp loud shrieks. A mass of matted hair shot out of his head. His eyes became flaming red. Other children ran away out of fear. But there was no fear in Vardhaman's eyes nor did he show any other sign, not even a tremor. He was tranquil as if majestically riding an elephant. He so struck the god's shoulder with his fist that the god cried out in pain. He gave up his hideous form of a giant and became a small child. Here, the whole city was full of fears, not simply because Vardhaman was the prince of King Siddhartha, but because people loved him so much. All saw Vardhaman returning safely, and heaved a sigh of relief. He was sitting on the god's shoulder. Some ran forward to beat up the god.
Vardhaman said to them, "No, he should not be beaten. It is the greatest punishment to an evil-doer if he repents what he has done. Who are we to punish him? So, forgive him and let him go."
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