JAMBU SWAMI

(The lesson in hand is based on Jambu Swami Charit.)

Sister Last Tirthankar Lord Mahaveer was completely passionless and omniscient. Was there any other similar personality ?

Brother Yes. After Mahaveer, Gautam Swami, Sudbarmacharya and Jambu Swami were completely omniscient and passionless. The last omniscient of this era was Jambu Swami.

Sister Was Jambu Swami also a prince like Mahaveer Swami?

Brother No sister, he was the son of a wealthy merchant of Rajgriha. His father was Arahdas and mother Jinmati. He was born on the last day of the Falgun month.

Jambu Kumar occupied an important place in the court of King Shrenik and the contemporary community. Many wealthy persons of the city wanted to offer their daughters to Jambu Kumar in marriage and four such girls were already betrothed to him, but….

Sister But what ?

Brother But since childhood, he was strongly averse to, worldly possessions. His mind used to be agitated for psychic happiness and as such he declined to marry.

Sister Declined? Abandoned relations after betrothal ? Did not marry ?

Brother He wished not to marry at all, but when, the girls knew this they decided to marry none other than Jambu Kumar, or otherwise to remain unmarried.

Sister Then..,

Brother Parents of Jambu Kumar and. all the four girls requested Jambu Kumar nor to refuse to marry. They allowed him to get initiated into monkhood after the marriage celebrations, because they knew that all the four beautiful girls will charm the mind of Jambu Kumar and then he would forget to renounce the world. But….

Sister What ?

Brother Jambu Kumar agreed to marry, but he could not be attracted towards worldly sensual pleasures ?

Sister Did the marriage not materialise?

Brother Marriage did take place, but just the next day Jambu Kumar left home, family associations, wealth and belongings and all the four goddess-like wives and got initiated into the order of the JAIN monks.

Sister What were the names of his wives? Did they not persuade him not to join the order of the monks ?

Brother They were Padamshri, Kamalshri, Vinayshri and Roopshri. With their passionate gestures, good looks, service and cleverness, they tried their level best to detain Jambu Kumar at home, but they could not move him, for he wanted to drink deep of the spiritual bliss by self-realisation.

Sister It was alright. The feelings of attachments of the worldly people cannot influence the spiritually-minded people. Rays of consciousness and asceticism are powerful enough to destroy attachments and ignorance.

Brother You are correct. His consciousness and asceticism influcenced the thief Vidyutchor, who had entered the house of Jambu Kumar that very night for stealing. He also accepted the order of JAIN saints after hearing the discussions of Jambu Kumar with his newly married wives and understanding his deep feelings of renunciation.

Sister What happened to those girls ?

Brother They also broke themselves from the sensory pleasures of life, turned towards renunciation and got initiated as she-monks of the Jain order. Jambu Kumar’s parents also got initiated into monkhood.

Thus, the whole atmosphere was permeated with asceticism. Monk Jambu Kumar engrossed himself deeply in spiritual contemplation. On the 7th day of second half of Magh month, the day when his preceptor Sudharmacharya obtained complete liberation, he achieved omniscience.

Sister As with the days of liberation of Mahaveer and the day of obtaining omniscience by Gautam, the day of liberation of Sudharmacharya and the day of achieving omniscience by Jambu Kumar are the same.

Brother After that Jambu Swami preached the gospels of religion for eighteen years from Magadh to Mathura and ultimately he obtained the state of Nirvan (Supreme bliss) from Chaurasi Mathura