Page 25 - Desire to Disaster

great brahmin poet Dhanapala, who held sway in the court
of King Bhoja. If such exalted scholars saw their spiritual
upliftment in taking the shelter of the Jina’s teachings, then
who am I to disagree? I too should follow in their footsteps
and take the shelter of the Jina’s teachings. The illustrious
persons who took up the path of the Jinas in their quest for
liberation were not wrong. They achieved their goals and
their legend continues to inspire us. So why should we not
follow in their footsteps?

Similarly, the Chakravarti emperors Bharata, Sagara and
Sanatkumar, who were conquerors of all the six sections of
the world, gave up their vast empires. So did Jambukumara,
the spiritual warrior who walked away from his eight
gorgeous, newly married wives and his vast wealth of
99 crore gold coins. Also included in this elite list of seekers
is Shalibhadra, who was divinely blessed and would receive
99 treasure chests full of gold ornaments, divine food and
garments each day, and had 32 beautiful doe eyed wives.
He gave them all up and became a wandering mendicant.
Others like Meghakumara, who was known for his lustful
ways, and Subahukumar, Nandishena, Gajasukumara and
Avantisukumara gave up their rich and fulfilled worldly
lives and became Jain ascetics. Hence, on the basis of the
Sanskrit maxim, “Mahājanoyena gatahsapanthā” and upon
observing the great sacrifices made by all these great men
should inspire you to give up worldly goals and focus instead
on the spiritual path.

Had we been smart enough, we would have let go of worldly
desires and taken an interest in spiritual upliftment. But we
are unable to think for ourselves. And cannot see the deep
underlying benefits of walking on the spiritual path. Hence,
we should seek inspiration from some of the highest minded,
wisest, smartest, richest and most powerful people in our

Desire to Disaster 25