Pinnacle Of Spirituality

Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal

Page 66

25. Strange Are the Ways of Karma!
The great irony of Shrimad's life is that although he was keen to live a life of
renunciation and so indifferent to worldly attachments, yet he was not able to follow that path. He gave up public demonstrations of his abilities, turned his back to fame and glory, and stopped practising astrology, all so that he could pursue spiritual development, and yet he was forced by his parents to marry, which he did in deference to their wishes. Mother Devba did not want him to be a monk and, touched by the mother's selfless love, he agreed to be a householder.
The letter that he wrote to his brother-in-law in Vikram Samvat 1944, reveals the fact that he was not very keen to marry but respected the wishes of relatives and wellwishers. He said, "They insist that I should marry. Then let it be so and I have consented."
At the age of twenty-one he possessed a fine sense of discrimination, and at the same time much detachment. Just as he had agreed to look after the family business, he also consented to marry to fulfill the wishes of his family. In Vikram Samvat 1944, he went to Vavania and married Zabakbai, the daughter of Popatbhai Zaveri, the elder brother of Revashankar Zaveri. Shrimad Rajchandra and Zabakbai had two sons - Chhaganlal (born in Vikram Samvat 1946) and Ratilal (born in Vikram Samvat 1952) and two daughters - Javalba (born in Vikram Samvat 1948) and Kashiba (born in Vikram Samvat 1950).
He knew that Karma accumulated in past lives were the reason for his marriage. For Moksha, all Karmas must be shed. They must be borne with equanimity. Though indifferent to worldly pleasures, he had to bear them: he could not avoid them.
He considered himself most unhappy but, unfortunately, there was no one in his family with whom he could share his feelings, so he kept them to himself. He wrote: "How strange is the bondage of Karma ! I now have to indulge in that which I never even dreamt of and which pains me. We must bear the consequences of our previous karma and take care to see that new ones are not formed. Therein lies our salvation." A reluctant householder, Shrimad was not drawn to worldly pursuits.
AYOYOA