Dr. Kumarpal Desai
Shri Kshullak Muni
Kshullakkumar had listened to the preaching of his mother and other monks for years together but the concepts of restraint, renunciation or detachment did not appeal or move him at all. His mother had granted him initiation at a very early age of eight but because of long-standing delusion of mind, his lustful desires did not vanish. In accordance with the promise given to his mother, he had listened to the inspiring sermons of Jineshwar Prabhu (venerable Jina) from her but that too could not move him.
After listening to his mother thus for long twelve years when Kshullakkumar bid farewell to his mother she insisted that he should also see the Guru before leaving. The Guru, instead of giving him permission to leave, preached him for twelve more years. Thereafter Upadhyay (spiritual leader) and Gachchhadhipati (a leader of a group of monks) also gave him sermons for twelve years each. But all were in vain.
After forty eight years of initiation when he finally left his mother, she gave him the ratnakambal (shawl studded with diamonds) and a ring from her previous worldly life. Shri Kshullak Muni found it difficult to go from house to house for alms. He stopped the practice of going for alms. He thought that as a result of sleeping on a grass-bed on the ground, his joints were severely aching. He told his guru that it would be better to have a cot. Similarly, he asked permission for having a bath with hot water. In the course of time, he could not bear the loch ceremony of removing hair, so he secured permission from the guru for shaving with a razor. A monk’s way of life proved to be an ordeal for Kshullak Muni, his penance and renunciation were too hard for him to follow for ascetic way of a monk’s life calls for severe penance.
It became impossible for Shri Kshullak Muni to abide by the monk’s way of life and finally Kshullakkumar renounced all the formalities of life of restraint and reached the court of Saketpur by evening. When he reached there, he found the court reverberating to the steps of the dancers. It was an unusual sight for him and was spellbound. Diamond-studded shining throne, lovely paintings on the wall, and dazzling light of the golden lamps - amidst this unusual atmosphere there were the sounds of loud appreciation by the lustful spectators. Kshullak got lost in this atmosphere of worldly joy and excitement.
When it was dawn, the dancer’s feet began to falter because of fatigue. Soon her mother, Akka, warned her conveying the message in musical tune in the words: “Much of the night is gone and very little time remains. Do not be lethargic anymore.” No sooner did Kshullakkumar hear these words his conscience awakened. He had an inspiring message in those words. He gifted the ratnakambal to the dancer. Kshullakkumar began to ponder: “So many of my years have passed and now it is not desirable to be lethargic for the remaining life”. What numerous sermons and preaching of the spiritual teacher could not achieve, a single utterance of Akka could. It succeeded in awakening his sense of penance and restraint.
Kshullak showed his mother’s signet-ring to king Pundarik and said: “The name on this signet-ring would tell you that I am the son of your younger brother Kundarik.” The king, on recognising the ring, wanted to hand over his kingdom to Kshullakkumar but he refused it. Finally the king and all others accepted initiation under Kshullakkumar and at last they all attained the bliss.
