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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
morning, he went to bathe in the Ganga. He was yet young at that time. He had got his head tonsured. He began to descend the steps of the river to bathe in it. A young man was sitting at that time on the bank of the river. He saw Eknath. He thought : "This fellow must be a hypocrite. He does not care to make a living by means of hard work. So, he has become a sadhu. Let me test him and find out whether he is a genuine sadhu or a hypocritical fellow."
Because he was a young man, he began making fun of Eknaih. But no saint has ever been hypocritical, or cowardly. Always, great saints have been subjected to severe ordeals. Mohammad, the prophet had to face many ordeals; Jesus was crucified. Mahaveer had to face severe impediments. The Buddha had to experience many ordeals at the hands of Devadatta. Tolerance is essential if one should become great.
Here is a story which illustrates this point. Do you know what ordeals the Dahi Bada (a dish called by that name) has to experience to become a Bada (a dish) ? The word also means 'great' in Hindi. The bada says, "I have had to experience a lot of pain and agony to become a Bada. First, I had to take a bath in the Ganga. Then I was made into a paste with a pestle and a mortar. Then I was shaped into small balls and then pressed. Then I was put into boiling oil. Then I became a bada." Here we have a humorous Sbut symbolic description of the ordeals that one has to experience to become a great man or a saint.
THE TASTE OF SADHANA :
This is the taste of sadhana or endeavours. Here we have the sweet fragrance of sublime tolerance.
Eknath, after taking a bath, came up to the bank. Just then, that young man spat upon him. Eknath did
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