COMPASSION LEADS TO EMANCIPATION

It is not true that only humans can develop compassion and love toward all living beings. Some animals also have capacity to develop such level of compassion toward other living beings. In the ancient Jain texts it is mentioned that how compassion plays major role for the progress of the soul toward liberation. There is a beautiful story in the history of an elephant in the history of Jainism which states that how compassion and kindness toward all living being plays major role in spiritual upliftment.

This is a story about an elephant. Once, there was a wild fire in the forest where that elephant used to live. All the animals came running and took refuge on the safe place. The elephant also went there. During that time, the elephant raised his foot to scratch his body because of an itch. That very time a rabbit was pushed in that space by the pressure of other animals. As the elephant tried to put the foot back, he felt the presence of the rabbit and decided to hold the foot up in order to save it. The fire raged for two and a half day during which the elephant continued to hold the foot up out of compassion for the rabbit.

At the end of fire as the animals retreated, the elephant tried to lower his foot. It had however stiffened during that time. The elephant could not maintain his balance and fell down. He felt agonizing pain and could not get up. That way he spent three days and night facing much affliction and acute pain. Ultimately the elephant left that body and were born as the prince, named Meghrath of King Shrenik, because of compassion for the rabbit.

At the age of 8 he was sent to school where he learned all 72 arts and crafts and became known as an accomplished youth. He was then married to 8 beautiful girls with whom he enjoyed all the pleasures of the worldly life. Once Lord Mahavira came to Rajgruhi and camped in Gunashil monastery. Almost every resident of Rajgruhi used to go to His sermon. Meghkumar went as well, and was very much impressed. Realizing the transitory nature of the worldly situations, as explained by the Lord, he decided to renounce his worldly life. But his parents were sad to hear about his intentions. They tried every means to stop him from renouncing. He however remained very firm. He left everything and became a possession-less monk of Lord Mahavira.

After becoming a monk in Lord Mahavira’s order, Meghkumar undertook fasting, meditation and other austerities in order to shed his karma. The Lord and his chief disciple Indrabhuti Gautam too praised him for that. When his body became very weak and could no longer observe the rigors of monk-hood, he decided to observe fast unto death. That he did for a month on mount Vaibhargiri near Rajgruhi and took birth in heaven. The Lord has stated to Indrabhuti Gautam that at the end of the heavenly life, he would be reborn in Maha-Videha part of the Universe and would attain salvation.

The story states how an elephant reached the level of higher purity of soul just because he had compassion for the rabbit in that birth.

MISS CONTEMPLATION CAN LEAD TO SPIRITUAL DEGENARATION

The most important thing is to control on thoughts. Our thoughts can lay the soul to the hell or to heaven or to animal incarnation. Here is the best example related with Lord Parshva. Lord Parshva was the 23rd Tirthankar and lived some 3000 years ago. Today he is worshipped as much as Lord Mahavir, the 24th Tirthankar.
The soul that was to be Lord Parshvanath was inspired to take the direction of purity in its birth as Marubhuti. He was born to the wife of Purohit Vishabhuti living in Potanpur city. His elder brother was Kamath. As Kamath was cruel, conceited, and a debauch, in spite of being the elder son it was Marubhuti who succeeded his father on the post of Rajpurohit (the director of ritual ceremonies of the king and state). Attracted toward the beautiful wife of Marubhuti, Vasundhara, Kamath seduced her. When Kamath’s wife came to know about the affair, she tried to dissuade him in vain and told Marubhuti about it. Marubhuti made a secret inquiry and conveyed everything in detail to the king. Kamath was exiled by the king. He became a mendicant and started doing rigorous penance.
After sometime Marubhuti felt that it was because of his report that Kamath was insulted and thrown out of the state; as such he should go and beg forgiveness from his elder brother. Marubhuti went into the jungle near Kamath and bowed before him seeking his pardon. Instead of getting pacified, Kamath was over powered by the desire of vengeance. He picked up a large stone and hit Marubhuti on the head. Marubhuti died on the spot but at the time when he died he fell on miss contemplation as his head was bleeding by the heavy stone. He mentally said, “Oh! What a strong pain? How can I tolerate this pain?” Because of this miss contemplation when he died, his soul reincarnated as an elephant in the Vindhyachal forest!
This small story states that due to miss contemplation even the pious soul of Marubhuti reincarnated as an animal (however in his later life he purified his soul to a great extent and became a Tirthankar). Now think what would happen to a person who always remains absorbed in miss contemplation and involves in sinful activities? The Jain Tirthankars as well as Lord Buddha have used meditation to control their senses because control of mind and senses is the most important part in spiritual progress.

Now here is mentioned another example of Monk Prasanna Chandra who became a monk from The King during Lord Mahavir’s time.
One day King Prasanna was observing clouds and soon all the clouds vanished from the sky. Thus the King realized the nature of life and thought that the life is like clouds that can end anytime. The cycle of birth and death never ends. Thus he decided to renounce the worldly pleasures and decided to become a monk. He transferred his Royal Authority to his son who was still a teenager.
Once, Prasannachandra, now a monk, came to Rajgriha with Lord Mahavir. Standing on one leg, with arms raised, he was engrossed in meditation outside the Samavasaran. A large number of people, including King Shrenik, passed by without disturbing the deep meditation of the monk to see Mahavir.
Seeing the calm, quiet face of Prasannachandra, resplendent in meditational pose, Durmukh, a minister of King Shrenik, was possessed by a fit of mad jealousy and malicious intent to disturb the monk's tranquility. He taunted, "Having left your son, a minor, at the helm of affairs of your kingdom, you have become a carefree monk. Do you know how fearful your young son is in such a situation? Enemies have surrounded him on all sides! The kingdom and his life both are at stake! If you have any worth, show it. It is your duty to save your child from these perils, after which you should think of spiritual attainments."
Outwardly, Prasannachandra was unperturbed, but inwardly, his mind was growing restless. He visualized the frightened face of his young, helpless child and he was mentally there at Pottanpur to protect his son. Mentally, he ordered the army to be prepared for battle, saw his army carry out the order, and even come with arms onto the battlefield, wounded or imprisoned all who threatened to harm the well-being of his son.
This agonizing state of mind full of violence and fear were contradictory to the peaceful outward nature that he was manifesting. New thoughts were perpetually fueling the fire of wrath and vengeance burning within his mind. Upon hearing the appreciative words of a humble layman thanking him for his exemplary lifestyle-- "Leaving all worldly luxuries and practising Sadhana is noble indeed".
The monk began to really think: --Whose son? Whose empire? Of what am I thinking? Why do these earthly cares plague me so? What good can come of wishing harm for others? Such attachment is not wise. I must repudiate such inane feelings as victory and defeat. Such are the thoughts of irrational men. I wish to be beyond such trifles.
His thoughts now directed to their proper sphere, Prasannachandra had pure thoughts and new vision. The mental enemies disappeared; the delusion was over. The veils so long obscuring knowledge and perception were flung aside, thus clearing his path of all obstructions. Prasannachandra had attained omniscience.
When Prasannachandra was doing battle mentally before attaining omniscience, King Shrenik asked Lord Mahavir that if the monk Prasannachandra dies right now then when would his soul go? Mahavir replied,” Oh King! If Prasannachandra would die now then he will be reborn in the seventh hell!” The King was surprised by this answer. He again asked the same question and Mahavir replied that if the monk dies now then he will reborn in the 12th heavenly region! Now King Shrenik was much surprised by these answers and soon he heard sounds of joy. He asked Lord Mahavir about these strange sounds and Mahavir replied that,”Oh King! The monk Prasannachandra has attained Omniscience! Then Mahavir explained to the king that,” when you asked me first time that when would he go if he dies now? Then I replied that he will reborn in the Seventh Hell because at that time he was mentally fighting and killing the army. Then he controlled his mind and was doing confession because his miss contemplation caused by your minister Durmukh and on that time you asked me second time and I replied that he will reborn in the 12th Heaven. Then the monk continued to purify his thoughts and eventually he attained omniscience and you heard the voices of celebrations!
Then Mahavir explained to the King the value of thoughts. Thoughts can lead us to the hell and thoughts can lead us to the heaven, thoughts can lead the soul to liberation!

-Rahul Zota (Bhuj-Gujarat)

LESHYAS OF THE PEOPLE

In the Jainism, there is a great deal of importance given to the leshya. A leshya refers to the state of mind. Our activities reflect the state of our mind. The following illustration shows how our activities vary with the state of our mind.
Once there were six friends, who were going on a trip. Along the way, they got lost in a forest. After a while they were hungry and thirsty. They searched for the food for sometime, and finally found a fruit tree.
As they ran to the tree, the first man said,

"Let’s cut the tree down and get the fruit."

The second one said,

"Don’t cut the whole tree down, cut off a big branch instead." The third friend said, "Why do we need a big branch? A small branch has enough fruit." The fourth one said, "We do not need to cut the branches, let us just climb up and get the bunches of the fruit." The fifth man said, "Why pick those many fruit and waste them, instead just pick the fruit that we need to eat." The sixth friend said quietly, "There are plenty of good fruit on the ground, so let’s just eat them first."
You can see that the states of minds of these six friends caused a range of thoughts that begin with the destruction of the entire tree and ended with the picking up of the fruits on the ground. The six friends’ minds represent six types of leshyas.

The first friend’s state of mind represents krishna (black) leshya.
The second friend’s state of mind represents neel (blue) leshya.
The third friend’s state of mind represents kapot (brown) leshya.
The fourth friend’s state of mind represents tejo (red) leshya.
The fifth friend’s state of mind represents padma (yellow) leshya.
The sixth friend’s state of mind represents shukla (white) leshya.

The first leshya is the worst and the sixth leshya is the best. The first three leshyas lead the soul to ruin, and the last three lead the soul to the spiritual prosperity. We know that our minds run into different states all the times for the better or for the worst.. Therefore, we should strive for the white leshya, and not the red leshya. The story of King Prasenjit, who lived during Lord Mahavira’s time, illustrates how fast the surrounding can effect our mind and in turn our leshyas as well as our spiritual progress.
One day, King Shrenik was on his way to pay homage to Lord Mahavira, and he saw a sage who was meditating and had a bright glow around him. He bowed down to the sage and continued on his way. After reaching Lord Mahavira, King Shrenik asked the Lord,

"Oh Lord, I saw a brilliant sage who was engaged in the meditation. If he died at that moment, what would be his destiny?"
The Lord replied, "He would have been hurled down to the seventh hell-region."
The king was much astonished to hear this reply from the Lord. He thought,
"Why would such a sage go to hell? Perhaps the Lord might have misunderstood me." He asked the Lord again, "Oh Lord, if his soul leaves this body just now, where will it go?"
The Lord replied, "He will be an angel in the Sarvarthasiddhi, a heavenly region."

The king was much surprised at this reply, too. He thought, "The Lord first said he would attain the seventh hell, and now he says that the sage would be an angel." The king was perplexed. At that very moment, drums began sounding in the sky and voices of ‘victory’ were proclaimed. The king asked the Lord, "What is the cause of these sounds?"
The Lord said, "Oh, king, the sage about whom you were inquiring has acquired omniscience and so the angels are beating the drums and proclaiming the ‘Victory’."
The king was extremely confused by these answers and requested for the explanations.

So Lord Mahavira explained,

"Oh king, right before you approached the sage, two soldiers leading your procession diverted his mind by their conversation that his son was betrayed by his entrusted ministers and they were planning to overthrow his son and even kill him. His meditation was disturbed due to rising of the affection for his son. He was inflamed with rage, and he lost his mental equanimity. Therefore, he started mentally to fight against his ministers. He very violently discharged his weapons one after the other against his ministers. Soon his weapons were exhausted and his foes were not destroyed. So, he thought of throwing his steel helmet against them in order to destroy them. If he would have died at that moment, he would have gone to the 7th hell. Now as he reached for the steel helmet, he realized that he was not the King Prasenjit, but that he was a sage. His anger calmed down immediately. He remembered that he has been initiated into the vow of equanimity and of non-violence to all living beings mentally, verbally, and physically. He deeply regretted and repented for the breach of his vow and indulgence in the acute anger. He further thought that he ought to have maintained love for all the creatures of the world, ought to have no malice for the ministers, and no attachment for his son. He severely condemned his mental act. He despised it and withdrew himself from such a feat of anger and malice. Oh king, when he thought this way, you asked me the next question and I replied that he would be born in the Sarvarthasiddhi (heaven) as an angel. Even thereafter, he continued the purification of his mental reflections and gradually he reached the stage of ‘Kshapaka’, where he annihilated all of his ghati karmas, and attained omniscience."

King Shrenik’s doubts were resolved and he learned how mental reflections can fluctuate. He, also learned that not only can physical acts or verbal abuses have such devastating effects, but so can mental acts. We, too, must learn from this episode. Let us understand how a person with the different leshyas behaves and what are the outcome of such leshyas.

Krishna (Black) Leshya: The people in this state of mind do not show any compassion or mercy. Everyone is afraid of them as their anger turns into the violence. They always burn with jealousy and have ill-will for everyone. They are filled with animosity and malice, and do not believe in the religion. This state of mind is the worst and most dangerous. If anyone dies in this state of mind, he will to hell.
Neel (Blue) Leshya: The people in this state of mind are proud, haughty, and lazy. They are unreliable and other people avoid their company. They are cheaters, cowards, and hypocrites. Such people also avoid the religious discourses. If anyone dies in this state of mind, he gets reborn as a plant.
Kapot (Brown) Leshya: The people in this state of mind always remain sad and gloomy. They find faults in others and are vindictive. They boast about themselves, become excited over small matters, and lack mental balance. If anyone dies in this state of mind, he gets reborn as a bird or an animal.
Tejo (Red) Leshya: People in this state of mind are very careful about their actions and discriminate between good and evil. They know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. They are kind, benevolent, religious, and lead a harmonious life. If anyone dies in this state of mind, may get reborn as a human being.
Padma (Yellow) Leshya: People in this state of mind are kind and benevolent and forgive everyone, even their enemies. They observe some austerities and are vigilant in keeping their vows till their last breath. They remain unaffected by joys and sorrows. If anyone dies in this leshya, he gets reborn in heaven as a celestial being.
Shukla (White) Leshya: There are two levels of this leshyas. The People in this state of mind strictly observe the principles of non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-attachment. They are trustworthy, treat every soul as if it was their own soul, and do not have any ill feelings even for their enemies. They remain calm even if someone abuses them. If anyone dies in this state of mind, he gets reborn as a human being or an angel. The people who have perfected this state of mind where there is no more attachment or hatred and treat everyone alike. They do not become happy or sad. Their state of mind is the purest. If anyone dies in this perfected state of mind, he or she will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

-Rahul Zota (Bhuj-Gujarat. INDIA)