Walk With Me

Author(s): Chandanaji Acharya, Vastupal Parikh
Publisher: Veerayatan

Page 26

Walk With Me
disciples. They wanted to confirm the unbelievable news and to seek answers to some of their own questions. As Mahavir resolved their dilemmas, they too readily joined his camp, like a river merging seamlessly into the ocean. The residents of Pava were in awe of the fact that we, the great Brahmin pundits, had readily accepted the leadership of an Arhat monk. Indeed, even for those of us embracing this new movement, this was an unexpected, unbelievable, and surprising event.
Mahavir continued his sermon, and, like a swan, I was gently floating with ecstasy in the wisdom of his words. These experience-based words directly touched the heart of every listener. People were excited We alone have the power | and were ready for total submission to to extricate our self from
Mahavir. It was easy to read their faces, miseries, not by begging for mercy, but through our which said, “We were groping in the own determined efforts. l dark, unable to find the path. Until now, we believed that accurately performing our rituals was true dharma, but how misguided we were! Empty rituals can neither be spiritual nor divine." Every face in the crowd was visibly expressing these feelings. Enlightened by Mahavir's thoughts, people were now awaiting further directives from him, truly anxious to follow his path.
I was listening carefully to Mahavir, "The soul is eternal. No one has created it, nor can anyone ever destroy it. Every soul is independent and an architect of its own fortune. Our soul is imprisoned in our bodies because of our karma. It is struggling to be free. We shape our future by our own deeds. Our good acts lift the soul to great heights, while bad deeds can cause it to slide into despair." Mahavir was empowering the masses by telling them that they are the masters of their destiny.
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