16.Striving for Equanimity

Chapter-16

Striving for Equanimity
> Jain Saints have equanimity towards friends and foes; pal­ace and cemetery; gold and glass; slander and panegyric, worship and sword-strike (Chhahdhala).

> Digambar Saints are synonyms of equanimity.

> They bestow compassion/affection not only on their devo­tees but also shower their compassion on those who at­tack them with sword.

> They are inspired by eternal feelings of world-wide fra­ternity.

> They have feelings of pity \mercy even on murderers.

> They do not blame others in the moment of distress\crisis but seek its reasons in themselves and endure it with equa­nimity. They remain unshaken because their passions have been weakened.

This incident is of Rajakhera (6,h Feb., 1930) Achharya Shri reached there along with his congregation. The joy of Rajakhera’s Shravaks knew no bounds because they had visited such a rare self-thinker Digambar Achharya for the first time. With a view to expose preaching and to propagate religious im­pression, a great pavilion was erected near the temple where Achharya Shri, along with his congregation, propagated very in­tensively the doctrines and principles of Jainism by disseminating\distributing blessings of restraint and religion for three days. Some sinners\infidel people were envious of this inten­sive propagation of Jainism. They saw nudity with an eye of con­tempt. They secretly planned a conspiracy to attack the congre­gation of Achharya Shri. Some unperceived feelings of conspiracy else where from Rajakhera, but in the meanwhile many learned people from other places had arrived there who insistently requested Achharya Shri to stay back. Because of his affection towards them, he stayed there.

The incident on the fifth day was unimaginable; a crowd of four to five hundreds of organized miscreants was heading towards the temple. Some people were holding swords and other arms with an ill intention to attack the congregation. They were heading towards the platform where congregation of Saints used to sit for ‘Samayik’. But it was a mere coincidence that Achharya Shri had asked that day the Saints to sit inside for samayik.

The background of ‘Samayik’ (concentration on religious themes) is set by the feelings of equanimity. If some creatures are hurt or killed by Jain Saints while moving around or in the pro­cess of taking food, etc., they observe “Pratikraman'’ (repentance) with feelings of forgiveness. The miscreants saw that there were no Saints out side that day on the platform. They did not dare to enter inside and advanced towards houses of Shravaks. The leader of those cruel miscreants, namely Chhiddi Brahmin, advancing with them, had lost his prudence and cognition. Those miscreants attacked some of the Shravaks. In no time Shravaks realized this unexpected incident. They saw that some anti-religious elements eager to at­tack monks were now advancing towards them. By all means, they opposed and faced them with courage and strength. All Shravaks united for defence of their venerable GuriAmonks without caring for their lives and faced miscreants despite that some of them were mutilated. News of this incident reached the regime within no time and the defence-force of the regime arrived at Rajakhera after midday to check those fiends.

The congregation of Saints showed a wonderful restraint at that time. Officers of the police came to Achharya Shri and were so impressed to see him that they expressed to Achharyatremists for their wrongful acts. Just then, Achharya Shri took a vow that until and unless Chhedilal Brahmin was released he would not take his food.

While on one hand the blood-thirsty Chhedilal and his colleagues were pouring in, as clouds of distress, on the congre­gation, police officers on the other hand were dumbfounded, hear­ing the vow of that compassionate and kind Achharya Shri, as they had seen such a great saint for the first time in their lives.

“I should not have malice towards scoundrels, barbarians and followers of wrong path. And I should have such a transfor­mation that I confront them with equanimity.”

Only Saints practise the praised path of non-violence with equanimity towards scoundrels and bless them for the growth of their religious virtues.