Page 22 - Faith Personified

night, they reached the place where the saint was fast asleep.
Ready with a knife, they glanced at the innocent saint, in the
serene moonlight. Coincidentally at that particular moment,
the saint happened to turn in his sleep. Non-violence and
love for all living beings prevailed in each drop of blood
flowing in his veins. Thus, even in sound sleep, the noble
saint did pramarjana* of his body as well as the place where
he would shift sides with his Rajoharana**. He then turned

over and continued his sleep.

What made the killers change their mind?

The killers were absolutely speechless. Oh! This great saint
was so compassionate towards the smallest creatures even in
his sleep! How would his actions be while he was awake?
Kindness and compassion would reflect in his every deed.

How could he even think of harming or hurting anyone?
Enveloped in such thoughts, they started talking among
themselves, “Brother! How can we even think of killing such
a gentle and selfless saint? Though our hirer harbours some
animosity towards the saint, I wonder what harm can the
saint have caused to him? What bitter fruits will we get upon
killing such a noble ascetic? To hell with the money! We do
not want the money.” Thinking along these lines, they
abandoned the idea of killing the saint. Amidst all this

* Pramarjana – An activity carried out with the help of the Rajoharana
to save small living organisms while changing body postures and
keeping or lifting objects.)
** Rajoharana – A symbol of Jain Sainthood, that Jain monks and nuns
keep with them 24x7. It is used to protect the smallest living creatures.

8