Tirthankar Mahavir

Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Jaybhikkhu Sahitya Trust

Page 93

For Mahavira a grand luxurious palace or a simple small hut were equal. He saw no difference between the rich and the poor He wanted to choose a place where his stay would not cause any inconvenience to others and which would not cause infatuation and attachment to him.
He selected the solitary workshop of a blacksmith. The blacksmith was suffering from a terrible disease. Hence, he had gone to some remote place for the change of climate. The workshop was away from the densely populated residential area. It was quite peaceful. There was no traffic and no coming and-going of people. It was conducive to meditation. His stay there would not cause any harm crnconvenience to anybody. So he chose the workshop instead of a lofty mansion, for his stay.
As fate would have it, the blacksmith who had been away for the last six months came back having recovered his health. To his great surprise, he saw a naked ascetic living in his workshop. He thought that in his absence the ascetic had usurped his property. On seeing him he became red with anger and trembled with rage. And while entering his house he had a very evil omen. He believed that the sight of a naked ascetic foreshadowed future calamity.
Anger blunts the faculty of thinking, anger makes man blind. Under the sway of anger, he loses the power of recognising the consequences of what he is about to do. A blind man cannot see but he can understand what he is doing and recognise the consequences of his actions. But a man blinded by anger cannot understand what he is doing or what the consequences wil be.
The blacksmith was very furious. He lifted a heavy hammer. He thought that he would strike the ascetic so violently that the latter would die instantly On seeing this dreadful scene people rushed there. Someone said to the blacksmith, "O brother, you have regained your health after long treatment You should take care of your health. Excitement is not good for your health Why do you yield to anger and harm your health ? Be at peace and be calm
A second man said, "O brother, one should not be angry with a saint. Look at the calmness and equanimity of the saint against your anger. Be calm It is true that the mind gets easily excited due to weakness resulting from long illness. But it is not proper to behave rashly with a saint and to think of killing him."