Book Title: Way of Life Part 2
Author(s): Bhadraguptasuri
Publisher: Vishvakalyan Prakashan Trust Mehsana

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Page 287
________________ DISCOURSE 43 275 his attainments or intelligence. It seems there was a family in the neighbourhood of his house and a young girl of that family used to come to Einstein always; and used to get some mathematical problems solved by him, Einstein used to treat the girl with great affection and to teach her mathematics. When the girl's parents came to know of this; they were astonished. They thought with wonder, "Such a great scientist converses with our daughter and teaches her mathematics !” They were full of admiration for Einstein's humility. Of course, Einstein was a great scientist. Apart from that, he was also great as a man. Nobility appears someday in those who admire nobility and greatness. ADMIRATION BRINGS ABOUT NOBILITY A man does not become noble or great merely by acquiring knowledge. He becomes noble or great if he remains humble inspite of his knowledge. A man does not become noble just because he has extraordinary intelligence. A man becomes noble, if he remains humble inspite of being intelligent. If a man is arrogant and if he is proud of his knowledge or intelligence, he cannot be called a noble man. Whether he is a great scholar or a genius without nobility or purity, he cannot carry out the pilgrimage of spiritual welfare. Nobility is an absolute necessity if one should proceed on the path of spiritual welfare. Therefore, Acharyashri Haribbhadrasooriji exhorts people to admire and extol the virtues of noble men. Nobility can be attained by means of praising noble people; but the praise should not be artificial or insincere. It should be natural, cordial, spontaneous and genuine. SPEAK; BUT AFTER CAREFUL REFLECTION Another special virtue of noble people is a fira fittacara That means one should be reticent in speech. Noble people are men of a few words. They speak very little. Whatever they may say, it will be relevant to the situation. They speak in accordance with the situation or subject matter and there also, they speak very little. This principle is of great importance in practical life. Most people are fond of loquacity. They do not Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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