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THE WAY OF LIFE
who come near them. They possess a full awareness of what should be said; and in which situation it should be said. They have an awareness of the propriety of the occasion. They possess a thorough knowledge of the scriptures. They are men of intellect and intelligence. Only such Acharyas can make the Jain Shasan influential in the world. Those who are acharyas, merely, by name, do not make the Jain Shasan influential but they make a mockery of it. They mar the dignity and grandeur of the status of an Acharya. Now-a-days, it is a misfortune that there is a lack of order and discipline in the Jain Shasan. Many evils and derogations have crept into it on account of the absence of a stern discipline.
The acharya whom Haribhadra approached was a man of great enlightenment and compassion. He placed before the scholar and purohit, the idea of Charitradharma, with love and tenderness. To the Purohit who was thirsty of knowledge, any condition put forth by the acharya was acceptable. His thirst for knowledge was greater and stronger than his desire for the pleasures of the worldly life. It was easy for him to discard sensual pleasures in preference to the attainment of knowledge. It was impossible for him to lose an opportunity of attaining knowledge for the sake of sensual pleasures; and such a thing seemed suicidal to him.
GRATITUDE : THE ORIGINAL WORTH
Haribhadra, the purohit became a Muni; and carried out, day and night, a deep study of the Jain philosophy. His absorption in those studies increased and they gave him deep delight and mental felicity. There appeared in him a tremendous regard for the Paramatma, Jineshwar, for the twelve angas expounded by him and for the Dharma. His heart was filled with the feelings of love and adoration. He admired the Paramatma and the Dharma Shasan. He could never forget the Sadhvi, Yakinimahattara, at any time, in his life. He mentioned her name in many of his works as his spiritual mother, giving her the place of mother. The original worth of great men is the sense of gratitude.
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