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JAINISM
storeys of the heavens. It must be noted, however, that in India the concepts of hell and heaven differ from those of Christianity; for the individual's residence in them is not eternal. They are, rather, purgatorial stations, representing degrees of realization experienced on the way to the ultimate transcendence of all qualitative existence whatsoever. Hence the dark brother is not, like Judas, cternally damned for his service to the Lord, but in the end is redeemed from his bondage in the spheres of ignorance and pain.
According to our serial of tales, then, though both Kamatha and Marubhūti have died, this death is not to be the end of their adventure. The good king Aravinda, whom Marubhūti had served as minister, was moved, following the death of his officer, to abandon the world and take up the life of a hermit; the cause of his decision being a comparatively insignificant incident. Always pious, he was planning to build a Jaina sanctuary, when one day he beheld floating in the sky a cloud that looked like a majestic, slowly moving temple. Watching this with rapt attention, he became inspired with the idea of constructing his place of worship in just that form. So he sent in haste for brushes and paints with which to set it down; but when he turned again, the form had already changed. A weird thought then occurred to him. “Is the world," hc mused, “but a series of such passing states? Why then should I call anything my own? What is the good of continuing in this career of king?" He summoned his son, installed him on the throne, and departed from the kingdom, became an aimless mendicant, and wandered from one wilderness to the next.
And so he chanced, one day, upon a great assemblage of saints in the depths of a certain forest, engaged in various forms of meditation. He joined their company, and had not been long among them when a mighty elephant, running mad, entered the grove-a dangerous event that sent most of the hermits to the four directions. Aravinda, however, remained standing
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| SR No. | 007309 |
| Book Title | Philosophies of India |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell |
| Publisher | Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd |
| Publication Year | 1953 |
| Total Pages | 709 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 34 MB |