It was the rainy season. We had all gone for the darshan of Acharya Maharaj. As always, Acharya Maharaj gave his sermon at noon. After the sermon, as people began to leave, they spotted a pair of snakes in a hollow near the wall at the temple entrance. Acharya Maharaj saw them too. He halted there for a minute and said, “O, Noble serpents! , Move about in peace without the least hesitation. You have taken this form because of some misdeed in a past birth. Put this life to good use and strive for self-improvement. Take care not to harm anyone.” He pronounced this saintly exhortation in a voice full of love.
Time went by. Many a time, those snakes were seen at sermon time. They never harmed anyone. This experience reinforced my faith in samavasaran, the assembly of all living beings addressed by a Tirthankar. Like those snakes, they must have received the divine message in their own languages and applied themselves to the mission of selfimprovement. This land of Nainagiri is hallowed ground, having been the site of the samavasaran assembly of Lord Parshwanath. Animated today by the sermons of Acharya Maharaj, it has regained its vocation to help all life forms uplift themselves.
Nainagiri (1978)
Parshwanath - The 23rd Tirthankar, who lived 250 years before Lord Mahaveer.