Page 94 - Courage Redifined

massive earthquake. Great Acharya Bhagwant Kanaksooriji
Maharaja was present in an Upashraya* there. For the ongoing
work of Jirnoddhar (reconstruction), thousands of tons of
stone were lying on the Upashraya terrace. Imagine the state
of the building with such a heavy weight lying on the top.
But due to the impact of the great Acharya Bhagwant’s strict
Sayam*, no damage was incurred.

In Lord Naminath’s temple located in Mumbai, thieves raided
the temple one night and the locks were found broken. But
to everyone’s surprise. Lord’s ornaments and Mukut (crown)
were intact. Nothing was stolen. What do you think happened
that night ? The thieves seemed to have lost vision and could
not find anything. Eventually, they got exhausted and left the
temple without stealing anything.
A Shravaka who observed strict penance and used to meditate
on Navkar Mantra was assessed by the Income Tax Dept.
and a demand of Rs. 33, 000 was levied. On the day of final
hearing, he went to the court sat down peacefully and started
chanting the Navkar Mantra. Why ? To win the case by Navkar
Mantra’s impact ? No, but because he believed that the efforts
put to attain wealth or for material pleasures are secondary.
Efforts for religion are of utmost importance and beneficial to
one and all in this birth as well as in future births. Such was
his strong faith and due to the impact of his religious faith,
the court rejected the Income Tax Department’s assessment.

These are just a few examples of the impact of religion. Due
to Lalitang muni’s strong penance, the space surrounding him
was not flooded. People saw this and told the foolish atheist,
“Look, you said there is nothing like the soul or religion.
But here, the miraculous powers of religion can be seen for
everyone. Stop ridiculing religion, now! ”

* Upashraya - A place where Jain monks stay
* Sayam – A strict ascetic life

84 Courage Redefined