Page 104 - Desire to Disaster

In the absence of this compassion, would Lord Mahavira
have felt nothing but sympathy and compassion for the violent
criminal Sangama Deva? Lord Mahavira was sad that without
wanting to, he had been a nimitta in Sangama Deva binding
violent sinful karmas and as a result would have to undergo
tremendous suffering for several lifetimes.

Baladeva Muni, the brother of Krishna Vasudeva, was about
to sit down to eat in a particular village when a woman from
the village, who had come to fill water from the water well saw
him and felt deeply attracted to his handsome appearance.
So distracted was she by his good looks, that by mistake
instead tying the rope to her water pot, she ended up tying
the rope to her child’s neck! Baladeva Muni immediately paid
attention and ensured that the mother’s rectified her mistake
and thus a tragedy was averted. But he felt great regret that
his handsome appearance was a nimitta in the increase of
delusion and sinfulness in the beholder’s heart. He therefore
quit visiting villages in order to seek food.

MahasatiMadanarekha’s husband was murdered by his elder
brother who was lustfully attracted to her. The weeping
Madanarekha deeply regretted her beauty, which had so
captivated her husband’s elder brother that he had killed his
own brother to get him out of the way! She knew that her
own husband was blameless and it was her own extraordinary
beauty that had driven her brother-in-law to commit the
heinous crime of murdering his own brother!

Upon examining these episodes, we realise that great souls
never encouraged others to indulge in sinfulness. Nor did they
aid, abet or encourage sinfulness in any manner whatsoever.
The deluded and sinful wrongdoer had sinned out of his/her
own volition. But such was the compassion these great souls
had, that despite knowing that the wrongdoer was entirely at
fault for the crime he had committed, they tried to look for

104 Desire to Disaster