Selected 100 Letters by Shrimad Rajchandraji

Author(s): Shrimad Rajchandra,
Publisher: Shrimad Rajchandra Prabhavak Trust Hubli

Page 47

SELECTED 100 LETTERS
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SELECTED 100 LETTERS
You know that the man, who is attracted to a woman after meeting an enlightened saint, has not really met him.
After meeting an enlightened saint, and hearing his spiritual teachings, a man cannot but see a living woman as a corpse. Really he would consider all wealth as the deterioration of earth. His soul would not desire or experience rest and ease and stability any where except in the shelter of an enlightened saint. This and such other teachings were given by the enlightened saints to their disciples, and following such teachings simple human beings used to proceed for their liberation. Even on occasions of death they would stick to these soul-uplifting teachings.
There are many other matters worth remembering constantly by spiritual aspirants. In brief total indifference of a spiritual aspirant to worldly life, affection for even a small virtue of another man, much affliction towards a small vice in him, much strength in removing such vice, all these points are worth grasping firmly from the teachings of enlightened saints in an attitude of total surrender to them. As far as you can try to adopt retirement and look for such a time, select a proper place for spending your retirement from worldly work; accept only those substance suitable to your retirement in peace and keep always your mental liking for such retirements. Tirthankar Lord Mahavira also advised his disiciple Gautam who was also an enlightened saint, not to spend even a moment in infatuation i.e. to constantly think about his spiritual advantage.
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Mumbai, Second Ashadh Vad Tenth,
Monday, V.S. 1949 Brother Kunverji, At Shri Kalol.
Your bodily pain, taking it to be the nature of a living body and also as a result of your past deeds should be suffered with equanimity. Many a time bodily ailment gives unbearable pain which even good men are not able to bear with equanimity but one can maintain it by thinking in ones own heart that the real self is permanent, indestructible, impregnable and is free from old age, death etc. One definitely sticks to the fact of distinction between the permanent self and the changing but unbearable pain of bodily diseases. Remembering the great troubles borne as trifles by the enlightened saints and taking courage from such experience of great men, one is helped much in bearing all sorts of bodily and mental pains and all these pains vanish after their time is over and they never return to such a man. The best thing is that when a man is bodily healthy and capable of braving hardships, he should realize that his self is quite different in nature than that of his body and that his body is only temporary and bound to die out and so he should renounce all his attachment of affection and love to his body and all external objects of the world. Suppose a man has not developed such an attitude towards his body, then he should do so even when he faces bodily troubles. Then also he is not that much bound by his deeds. So when he is facing the advent of deadly diseases then even, he should set aside the possessiveness of his body and he should follow scrupulously the instructions of enlightened saint. This is the finest
- Salutations