Nandishen Diwakar Chitrakatha 048

Author(s): Nityanandsuri, Chidanandmuni, Shreechand Surana
Publisher: Mahavir Seva Trust Mumbai

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NANDISHEN
THE PLAY GOES ON
Does the sun not dawn if the cock doesn't crow? "Nothing happens without me."Why have such ego?
While preaching, a great saint said to a trader — "You should spend some time in company of sages." The trader expressed his inability - "Reverend! I have a wife and five children. I am the only bread earner in the family. If I take a rosary in hand and sit idle how will my household run?"
The saint laughed and said — "Brother! This world goes on. Nothing stops in the absence of an individual. However, if you still have this ego, you may test my statement. Go out-station for two months and see."
The trader accepted the saints advise and went away for two months. When he had left, the saint sent a slip of paper at the traders house. It had a message-"While walking near a bush in the jungle, a hungry tiger pounced on the trader and killed him."
The family was shocked at this news and the house was filled with wailing and gloom. They all endured the great sorrow considering it to be their ill-fate. The relatives dutifully contributed to provide for immediate expenses. They also arranged for suitable jobs for the sons. Soon the household was running satisfactorily. Soon the trader became a thing of past memory.
After two months he returned home. It was late in the night. He knocked at the door. His wife asked from inside - "Who is there?"
Introducing himself as the head of the household he asked - "Have you forgotten me?"
The wife looked through the peep-hole. When she saw her husband she thought "It seems that after death he has become a ghost and has come to torture us." This made her utter ---- "No! You are not needed here. Please return to your place. We don't want our house to be haunted by ghosts."
Taken aback, the trader said — "Hey simpleton! Why do you utter these words? Dol look like a ghost? I am the same head of this family. How will you make both ends meet in my absence? Consider that there is no other earning member in the family. Have you gone made?"
"No! No! I have thought of everything. Please leave this place at once. The household is running well. It is even better than when you were here. We don't even want to see your face."
This snubbing by his own wife surprised him but at the same time it made him aware of the realities of life.
He went to the saint and narrated the story. He got detached from this selfish world and took to the spiritual path.
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