Way of Life Part 4

Author(s): Bhadraguptasuri
Publisher: Vishvakalyan Prakashan Trust Mehsana

Page 35

DISCOURSE 74
any time? This kind of contemplation can arise in you only if your intelligence is pure.
Even the water that has fallen on the idol of the Paramatma and the flowers that have been used to worship the Paramatma are efficacious. That water and those flowers become sanctified and beneficent things by the auspicious emotion of devotion of the devotees. Even scientists of to-day have discovered that auspicious emotions can be immensely efficacious. Scientists of course, have understood this but when and how are you going to understand this?
Any substance that touches the Paramatma acquires a mysterious efficacy and an extraordinary sanctity. This is not merely the imagination of a poet. It is a fact. Ded Shravak understood this fact. He did not merely understand it. He had a deep faith in it.
It was that faith that inspired those lofty emotions in his heart. What did he say to the Lord ? “It is only on account of the strength that you have bestowed upon me that I have been able to take this firm stand of not revealing to the King, the secret of my Suvarnasiddhi”.
The king imprisoned Ded Shravak but his faith in the Lord remained unshaken. He did not think thus, "O Lord, I am your humble devotee! Yet you have not saved me from trouble. You have not taken care of me. You have not given me protection in the hour of my need. How can I continue to have faith in you ?" Only a man devoid of real faith entertains such thoughts. A man who has an unflinching faith in the Lord remains unshaken even in the worst of calamities. His faith remains unshaken.
Ded shravak had such a deep intimacy with Bhagawan Stambhan Parshwanath. He had such a deep emotional intimacy with the Lord that he said, "O Lord ! if you save me from this disaster, I will worship you by decorating all your organs with gold ornaments”.
"Is it proper to take such a vow of offering to the Lord ?" This question should not be asked. It was not a vow of offering