Page 76 - Courage Redifined

then does he commit sins. The thirst for wealth and sensual
pleasure is such that a man does not have the courage to avoid
it and thus get dragged away in it. After getting dragged away
in these pleasures, there is no looking back. He will exercise
sins as per his wish without any control ?

How did Shrenik consider himself ? Undetermined and a
coward. As a result, he made constant efforts and exercised
various rituals which resulted in the emergence of Kshayik
Samyaktva and Tirthankara Namakarma. He did not succumb
to various desires leading to increase in Mithyatva*. This
can be considered his courage. In spite of this, he would
not renounce the material world and the various pleasures
it offered. This shows that Shrenik was indeterminate and a
coward.

Indetermination lead to sins :

If you do not keep the mind occupied in the study of
Scriptures, then it is bound to get dragged away in other
worldly thoughts. This is sure to make the mind undetermined
and weak which will again result in unwanted thoughts related
to wealth and other desires. The result ? A sinful mind and life.

How did the saint overcome his unwanted thoughts ?

The wise Acharya Bhagwant had realized that his disciple
saint’s mind had become idle without the Swadhyaya of
scriptures due to the past karmas binded by him. This had
made him undetermined. Thus, the root of the problem was an
idle mind. Hence, the most effective solution was to occupy
his mind in some work so that it did not become idle.

According to the Acharya Bhagwant’s guidance, the saint got
engaged in imparting knowledge to his co-saints right from

* Mithyatva - false beliefs which are against the teachings of Lord
Mahavira.
66 Courage Redefined