Page 124 - Faith Personified

nature for lakhs of years. Inspite of the fact that King
Gunasena forgot his Maskshamana Parna day 2 times, he
did not succumb to anger. But the moment King Gunasena
made the same mistake for the 3 time, he lost his temper
rd
and alongwith it the feeling of brotherhood. Once this
basic virtue was lost, all his severe penance and its sweet
fruits were lost.

Give it a thought – due to the feeling of enmity and
anger, such a great sage also had to face dire consequences.
He had to stay in the dungeons of hell for as many as 8
births. His birth cycle increased enormously, including
numerous births of algae as well. We do not have even
the thousandth part of such penance or forgiveness. Now
imagine where do we stand? What will be the fruits of
our anger or hatred?

2) Marichi and Jamali uttered just a few words beyond the
boundaries of the Jain Scriptures and lost the fundamental
virtue of faith and perception resulting in the loss of all
their strict penance and increase in their birth place. If
they had to face such dreadful consequences inspite of
living an ascetic life, imaging the state of those who speak
recklessly against our religion only to display their so-called
intelligence.

3) A saint by the name Kulavalaka stayed in a forest hermit
all by himself. His penance and code of conduct was so
strict that due to its miraculous effect, the river changed
its direction of flow. The river flowing nearby was in floods

110