A great elephant chariot festival was being organised on the occasion of the installation of an image of Shri Jinendra. It was the first time that Acharya Maharaj had conducted the ordination ceremony of aryikas. A vast multitude bore witness to the ordination of eleven aryikas and twelve kshullaks conducted from the same platform. Each and every grain of the soil of that spot was sanctified by the footfalls of Acharya Maharaj. In 1978, in this hallowed ground, I had seen him absorbed in spiritual endeavours in the company of just four or five disciples. Today, eight or nine years later, my heart rejoices to see that though he is in the midst of a vast assembly of forty six munis, aryikas, ailaks and kshullaks, he is as unattached and focused on his self as he then was.
Next morning, overcome by emotion, we urged him at the time of Acharya worship, “Maharaj, do give us some message today.” He looked at us for a moment and then said to us with great affection. “You are all exalted souls. Thanks to the merits accumulated in the past, you are advancing together on the path of the Faith. Always maintain the balance between action and withdrawal as you strive for salvation. When you engage in action, you should assume that everyone is marching together on the path of liberation and your first duty is to help one another. But at the time of samayik, you must disengage yourself from one and alliamo consider yourself absolutely alone. You should realise that your ultimate duty is to dwell within your self. This is my brief message to you all.”
This precept gladdened our hearts. We realised that day that for Acharya Maharaj, precept and practice are one; he only has given us what he has lived every moment of his life.
Nainagiri (1987)
Aryika – The highest stage that a female Jain ascetic can attain.