Book Title: Santbal A Saint with a Difference
Author(s): T U Mehta
Publisher: Navjivan Prakashan Mandir

Previous | Next

Page 140
________________ gave prominence to wealth and the devotees knew this very well. They decided to follow him in his death and resolved not to resort to this customary practice. A palanquin was prepared to carry the dead body. The Saint had full respect for women. So the devotees unanimously agreed that his palanquin should be lifted by four of his lady devotees who were unmarried. These four who were selected were : 1. Meeraben, 2. Prabhaben Ajamera, 3. Kashiben Mehta and 4. Vanitaben. Manibhai Patel, his close associate, was selected to put fire to the funeral pyre. It was perhaps for the first time that the palanquin of a Jain male Saint was lifted by women. On the sea shore of Chinchan village there is a piece of land donated by the Maharashtra Government to the Mahavirnagar Institute. Santbalji used to go there for his usual walk. There the remains of the Saint are buried and a monument is constructed by the devotees. There are two monumental platforms - one at a higher level and the other at a lower level just touching the former. One at a higher level contains inscription, “Om, hrim, Arhan Namah". (Om ! I bow down to Arhat). The one at lower level contains inscription, “Om, "Maiya Sharanam Mama” (Om, I bow down to Mother Nature). The former is the memorial to his Guru Muni Shri Nanchandraji Maharaj, while the later is memorial to Santbal, as he said he got all inspiration from Mother Nature. Thus came the end of a life of one who aspired to revolutionise the human society by taking it away from the drudgery of materialist hankering and by infusing in it the ethical values of life. Though his contemporary Jain society initially could not digest his revolutionary ideas, those who could think objectively could ultimately appreciate his philosophy of life and its logical 114 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152