Inspiration Generates Enlightment

[Ashok]

Once, two Brahmins, named Jayaghosha and Vijyaghosha lived in the city of Varanasi. Both of them were well versed in the Vedas.

One day, Jayaghosha went to take a bath in the river. There he saw that a snake had caught a frog in its mouth and was trying to swallow it.

Just then, a Kurura bird was swallowing the snake, the pain of frog, which was being eaten by the snake increased. Watching this painful sight, Jayaghosha’s heart was filled with unberrable sorrow, which changed him, and he accepted the path of renunciation from a Jain monk.

Jayaghosha wandered from village to village and finally came back to Varanasi, where he stayed in a garden situated on the outskirts of the town. There, he undertook a fast for a month. On the day of his paarna he went to the city for alms. At that time, his brother, Vijyaghosha was performing a sacrifice. He had invited Brahmins from various places and a variety of food dishes had been prepared.

When Muni Jayaghosha reached the enclosure of the sacrifice for alms, Vijyaghosha said, “I shall not give you alms, seek alms in some other place. This food is reserved for those who are scholars of Vedas, sacrifices, astronomy and religious scriptures and are capable of uplifting their own soul as well as the souls of other people.”

The great monk, Jayaghosha, remained calm, even though he was insulted and refused alms. In a soothing voice he explained to Vijyaghosha that one can neither become a shraman by wearing a uniform nor a Brahmin by repeating om; neither a monk by residing in a forest nor a hermit by wearing robes of kushgrass. Further he said, “One becomes a shraman by equanimity, a Brahmin by celibacy, a monk by gaining knowledge and a hermit by performing austerities.”

Listening to these great words of Jayaghosha, Vijyaghosha got enlightened. This freed him from the bondage of Karma. He realized his own mistake regarding the conditions and attributes of asceticism. He accepted monkhood and finally both the brothers attained liberation.

[Ashok]

Value Of Self Control

There was a cool and serene water pool, in the outskirts of the city of Varansi, surrounded by a beautiful garden with blossoming trees which looked as red as fire. The flowers looked like burning flames and the stalks and leaves were always in motion due to the pleasant breeze. Creatures like frogs, tortoises, fish etc. lived in and around the pond, leading a peaceful life.

Once, in the evening, when there was no one around the pond, a pair of tortoises came out of it in search of food. Meanwhile, two hungry jackals also reached there in search of food. They saw the frightened tortoises and wanted them as their prey. Tortoises have a special hard shell covering their bodies, protecting them from external danger. As soon as they saw the jackals, they withdrew their legs and necks into the hard shell and protected themselves by giving the impression of a hard round rock.

The jackals, being very clever and cunning animals, understood this trick and hence hid themselves behind the bushes, while keeping a watch on the activities of tortoises. After a short while, one of the tortoises who was very restless and impatient, slowly took out his limbs and head one by one, being quite unaware of the danger, he would fall into. The observant jackals were waiting for such an opportunity. They jumped on the tortoise and ate it within a wink of an eye.

The other tortoise who had a lot of self-control, did not move his body at all. He displayed unimaginable patience unlike the one who got killed. The jackals, who were waiting for this tortoise to eject its limbs, failed to make him their prey. Finally, the disheartened jackals gave up and went away. The tortoise then safely reached the pond.

If we remain patient and calm during adverse circumstances, we can overcome the moment of peril and emerge a winner. In otherwords, self-control is the key to success. The road to salvation is self-control.