Bhainsa Shah, a reputed shravak of Rajasthan, once went to Ahmedabad. He needed one lakh rupees which is almost equivalent to one billion today. In those days, grains purchased with 1 anna (6 paisa), could be consumed for one month. What is the current situation? One anna has no value. Even buying breakfast is not possible in one anna. Bhainsa Shah asked his employee to go to one of the businessmen (seth) and request a hundi (a kind of loan) of one lakh rupees. The employee went to get the loan, but was asked by the businessman to pledge against the loan. The employee took out a little container and giving it to the lender said, ‘Here is the hair of moustache of Bhainsa Shah. Take it and lend me the money.’ To his surprise, the seth kept the small box and contributed him one lakh rupees.
The question is not of money, but of reputation. Money has no value before reputation. Character and reputation supersedes everything. Acharya Tulsi has explained it in the following stanza:
main jaini hun janata mein dhaak jamaaye,
kho kar bhi laakh na apani saakh gamaae.
shramanopaasak hona saubhaagya ghadi hai,
dhaarmik sanskriti ki sanjeevani jadi hai.
It means – ‘I am blessed and proud to be a Jain and a shramanopaasak’ – this feeling is a matter of good fortune and pride, but along with this feeling, he is determined to live the Jain way of life and leaves an indelible impression on others of being a Jain shravak.’
Seeing the growing influence of a shravak some people may become jealous and this can be a challenging period for him. In such a situation he may have to bear some harm but a shravak should always keep just one thought in his mind – loss of wealth doesn’t matter, but his reputation should remain intact. A person, who is more conscious about his wealth, puts his energy to secure his wealth even at the cost of his character and reputation. He can change his words. On the other hand, one, who gives value to his prestige and wants to secure it, can bear the loss of millions to protect his reputation or character.
There was a cloth merchant who was famous for his honest behavior. He would never deceive anyone. Once, the king required some silk fabrics. He called for the merchant and asked, ‘Do you have any silk fabric in your shop?’ The merchant was quite nervous as it was the first encounter with the king and the words slipped out as, ‘I don’t have any silk fabric.’ And the merchant left. A few people complained to the king, ‘Majesty, we have seen piles of silk fabric at the merchant’s shop. Perhaps he doesn’t want to give it to you.’ The king did not believe the people’s words, but upon their insistence, he ordered his attendants to investigate the next morning. After reaching home the merchant asked his son if there was any silk fabric in the shop. The son replied, ‘We have one lakh worth of these goods.’ The merchant immediately said, ‘Burn it all.’ The son was astounded. The merchant explained, ‘It doesn’t matter if I lose one lakh, but my words must remain intact.’ The son followed his father’s instructions. The next morning, the king’s men reached the merchant’s shop. They didn’t find what they were looking for and accordingly reported back to the king. The king ordered the tongues to be cut of those who had complained falsely against the merchant. On hearing this news, the merchant rushed to the king and declared, ‘Your Majesty! Those people are right. At that time, silk cloth was there in my shop, but because of nervousness I said that there wasn’t any fabric.’ The king asked, ‘Where have the goods gone?’ The merchant replied, ‘In order to keep my words, I burnt all the fabric.’ Listening to this, the king was very pleased and ordered his treasurer to reimburse the merchant of his loss. To earn the reputation of being trustworthy is a great accomplishment. Even today this trust exists.
