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The Tireless Fountain of Compassion
Rainy season is on its last lap Winter is setting in Greenery is subdued now The paths are no more rain-blocked Lord Mahavira left Asthikgram to reach Morak 1 He as usual chose the grove outside the habitation
Achchhandakas who were occultists lived there They were adepts in astrology, hypnotism and other occult practices One of them was an unchallenged figure in this field in public esteem
The gardener saw a standing figure pursuing austerities The next day again it was so What a venerable man, he felt! He propagated his exalted views amongst the inhabitants They began to frequent the place The Lord's meditation and silence continued uninterrupted And still the people were drawn in growing numbers to do their prayers for a while and go away The way of the Lord's meditation fascinated them His proximity blessed them with indefinable peace
Seeing these devoted masses weaned from his influence, Achchhandak was exasperated He sought a means to let the Lord down He appeared near him with his camp-followers
The Lord was immersed in the deepest self-absorption where success and failure held no relevance Achchhandak on the other hand, was suffering his unspeakable pangs Said he, 'You young aspirant! Why do you stand here mutely?
1
Second year of the pursuit
