The art of living with two families, worldly and spiritual!

The art of living with two families, worldly and spiritual!

My Family Is With Me

A king went to the jungle to hunt. Deep in the jungle, he saw an effulgent monk meditating under a tree. He went closer to the monk, bowed his head and asked, ‘Revered sir, how come you are alone in such a dense and dangerous forest? Aren’t you afraid of wild animals?’ The monk replied with half-opened eyes, ‘I am not alone, my son, my family is with me.’ The king looked around but did not see anyone, so he asked, ‘Where is your family, sir, I don’t see anyone.’ The monk replied with the same calmness, ‘O King, not all things in the world are visible; some can be seen, and some cannot.’ The confused king asked again, ‘Revered sir, I couldn’t understand your context. Please introduce your family.’ The monk said, ‘Patience is my father, forgiveness is my mother, peace is my companion, truth is my son, compassion and non-violence are my sisters, the directions are my clothes and knowledge is my food. One who has these as relatives, how can he be afraid of anything?’

The answer of the monk may seem mysterious to you. Only a person who is detached, free from desires, and fully engrossed in the soul, can experience and expound such a philosophy. The king stared at the monk in amazement.

Be Like The Earth
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Every person should have two families. The father or mother is the head of the family generally, but in the path of spiritualism, ‘patience’ should be the head of the family... The saviour of any individual in this world is patience. Haste is always waste. It is good to be patient even in times of difficulty... Forgiveness is compared to a mother. The earth is seen as a symbol of forgiveness. She nurtures everyone just like a mother would. According to the Jain scripture, Dashvaikalik Sutra, a monk should behave like the earth. The Upanishads also state, ‘Earth is my mother; I am her son.’ Who else can be as tolerant as Mother Earth?

Overcome Fear By Your Second Family
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Similarly, the person who lives with both the worldly family and the spiritual family, will never be afraid of anything. Today, each and every individual is afraid. This fear is of many kinds. A man in a high position is afraid of losing his position, a businessman is afraid of an income tax raid, government officials are afraid of their senior officers... Fear is the biggest factor of tension and stress. The one who is tolerant and forgiving is never afraid of anything and is never under tension or stress.

The Soul Protects Itself
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Continuing with his explanation, the monk said, ‘Peace is my companion. She always stays with me like a shadow. I continually experience peace and bliss. The word ‘tension’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary.’ When the monk says, ‘Truth is my son’, it means he has understood that no one protects anyone in the world. The soul alone protects itself.

Two Sisters
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He also said, 'Compassion and nonviolence are my sisters', which meant that he continuously observed the religion of compassion and nonviolence. He never thinks of harming any being through mind, body or speech. He contemplates over the doctrines of equality and friendship.

Fearless Forever
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The monk said, 'Control over mind is my brother.' In Indic literature, the word bandhu is used very often. Acharya Hemchandra and many others have said in praise of the Tirthankaras that 'You are the brothers of those who do not have a brother.' A brother is a symbol of support. Nobody’s support is as great as that of a brother... An uncontrolled mind always creates problems. The senses are also the cause of many problems, but the mind is far ahead of them in this context. The one who has learnt to control his mind and senses an¬¬d has developed the art of using them with control, will be fearless forever. The person who is lucky to have such a spiritual family, is protected by the armour of fearlessness forever.

Build Your Spiritual Family
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The question before you is, "Have you built your spiritual family or not?" If you have built a spiritual family for yourself, then you shouldn’t be afraid of anything in the world. You would be able to live without any tension. If you haven’t built a spiritual family and are still living on the support of the worldly family, then you are bound to be tensed and stressed. Anyone can deceive you at any time... In this age, no one is trustworthy, not even your own brother, son or wife. They are companions of time. During bad times, they may leave you. Thus, it is the duty of every man to build a spiritual family and not live supported by the worldly family alone. If both families are strong and supportive, the person becomes powerful.

By ACHARYA MAHAPRAGYA.