Lord Mahavira

Author(s): C R Bhansali
Publisher: M and P Consultancy and Marketing Co Delhi

Page 63

62 / Lord Mahavira
10. Straight-Forwardness
He who does not think crookedly, does not act crookedly, does not speak crookedly and does not hide own weaknesses, observes the virtue of straight forwardness.
Even if a person walks about unclad and mortifies his flesh by cbserving austerities and fasts for months together, if filled with deceit, he will be born endless number of times.
If an ignorant person observes fasts for months and takes just a morsel of food to break each fast, he still will not be equal to the sixteenth part of the religious order proclaimed by the Jains...
A person who atones for the misdeeds carelessly done by him, is a true aspirant.
By conquering deceit, a person gains straight forwardness.
By conquering anger, a person gains forgiveness.
By conquering pride, a person gains humility. By conquering greed, a person gains contentment. Birth is misery, old age is misery and so are disease and death. All the living beings pass through nothing but suffering in the worldly existence.
By which acts can I escape from taking birth in undesirable existence in this unstable and changing world so full of misery?