________________
290
THE WAY OF LIFE
will not eat prohibited food. You will not condemn others and you will not commend yourself.
*
On account of your contact with noble spiritual heads, your intelligence will become chastened and chiselled to perfection. Your intelligence will become pure. If it does not become totally pure it will become chastened to some extent and there will be some purity in your intelligence.
From the Audience:
life of Vankachul. Did it not?
Such a thing happened even in the
Maharajashri: Yes. On account of coming into contact with a noble spiritual head, the dacoit's mind became chastened and he could carry out his vows with a pure mind. He carried out the four vows with a firm mind.
VANKACHUL'S TOUCHSTONE
One day, Vankachul set off with his companions to commit a robbery. All the men of the village had gone out with Vankachul. Only women remained in the village. Some robbergang living in a nearby village came to know that in Vankachul's village, there were only women and that there was not a single man in the village. They planned to rob the village. About twenty five robbers of that gang put on the guise of actors and came to Vankachul's village. They announced in the village, "To-night we are going to enact a Ramlila in this village".
Vankachul's wife and his sister were in his house. Vankachul's sister saw the actors. She got a suspicion. She thought, "They may be robbers. There is not a single man in this village now. Probably, they have come here knowing this. In the night while the Ramlila is going on, some members of this gang may plunder the village". She was greatly worried. She spoke to her sister-in-law. Both began thinking. Vankachul's wife said to her, "Well, when you come to the Ramlila, you wear your brother's dress. Your face is exactly like your brother's face. In the night, nobody will see you closely in the torchlight. They will think that the leader has come and they will drop the idea of robbing this village".
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
