Stories From Jainism

Author(s): Mrugendramuni
Publisher: Jain Yoga Foundation

Page 51

into the enemy's hands. So Prasannachandra took up arms on behalf of his son. But then, he was only in meditation under that tree." King Shrenik then asked the Lord of this mental agitation of Prasannachandra. So Lord Mahavir said, "We cannot concentrate if our problems remain unsolved. He ought to have embraced monkhood after getting rid of the troubles facing the prince. He was indifferent to the world when he renounced it. But he had created another for himself while in meditation. This disturbed his balance of mind, and he could not concentrate in his meditation."
"What happened next?" asked King Shrenik.
"Well, his sword broke down while fighting. And he could not find another weapon. So he tried to touch his crown to throw it at the enemy. But, as soon as he touched his head, he found that there was no crown. He then realised that there was no enemy before him, but, he was only engrossed in meditation. Everything else was illusion. He was only a monk at that time who was meditating in the garden on the out skirts of the town. He soon realised that the outward abandonment is meaningless, if one has not controlled one's self. After all, this world is also our own creation. This realisation helped him to go to the highest heaven in the end. He had succeeded in cutting off all the bonds that had obstructed eternal light."
38