Once  Gautama, the disciple of Lord Mahavir, was passing by the royal palace of the city of Polaspur. Prince Atimukta was playing with his friends in the outer garden of the palace. Suddenly, the prince happened to see Gautam. To his wonder, he forgot to play with his playmates. Why? He was so much impressed by the gentle figure of Gautam. So he ran to him and said, ‘O Sadhu! Who are you?”

Gautam introduced himself briefly by saying he was a Shraman – a Sadhu. But Atimukta was not satisfied with this information. He, therefore, began to ask a volley of question e.g. “Where do you live? What do you do? How do you earn your bread? Where do you come from? And where are you going?”

Gautam smiled a little on hearing these questions and said, “We are Sadhus. Meditation on the Self is our aim. As to residence, we live everywhere. To get bread is no problem to us. We eat whatever pure food we get. I have come just now from the garden outside the town. Our Guru is putting up there. I will go back there.”

“Certainly, anybody is free to see him. His doors are open to all.”

Hearing this, Atimukta was much pleased. He followed Gautam in order to see the Guruji.  He walked a long way along with Gautam and reached the garden. Here he saw Lord Mahavir giving a sermon to the people gathered there. Atimukta began to listen to what was being said there. He heard words as sweet as nectar. They had great effect on him. He then presented himself to Lord Mahavir at the end of the sermon. The prince said, ‘O Lord, I seek your shelter. Please initiate me as your disciple.”

The Lord asked him to get permission from his parents and then he would be accepted.

The prince then went to his parents to get the permission. On hearing the Prince’s request to renounce the world, the king, the queen and all the members of the king’s harem were wonder- struck. It was like a bolt from the blue for them all. They tried to deter him from his resolve, by offering various kinds of temptations. But it is not possible to deter a person who has fixed his goal. Hence, they could not make him change his mind. Finally, getting the necessary permission of his parents, Atimukta approached the Guru, and was accepted.

On days passing by, One day Atimukta was going to the town, along with other fellow disciples, to get alms.

It was now the rainy season. It had rained heavily some time   earlier. Water was flowing though the channels in the corn fields. There was a pleasing gurgling of the running water. This attracted the young Sadhu and he stood there.

On hearing the sweet sound, Atimukta was reminded of his childhood days when he had sailed a paper boat in a rivulet.  His sister Champa had also sailed a paper boat. His boat had reached the bank, but, unfortunately, Champa’s boat had tilted and sank. But Champa had cried “Look, your boat is going down.” Atimukta had then got angry at her wileness’ and given a slap to his sister saying, ‘You are lying.”

Of course, it was a lie on the part of the girl.

Atimukta was, perhaps, lost in his reveries. He came to the running brook very slowly. And he put his wooden begging bowl into the water. He began to watch the drifting bowl and exclaimed, “It is all a lie. Look here, mine is floating along!”

His fellow disciple was wonder-struck at this. They tried to explain to him his reverie. But he sis not any heed to what they said.

So, all the monks left him there. The monks were now full of doubt. They began to wonder why the Guruji had initiated such a child into monkhood.

It is only the Lord who knows why. He had accepted this child as his disciple. The Lord did not think or act as a common man. His vision was different from that of a layman. Hence, they thought, “we have no right to ask the Lord in this respect.’

They, indeed, did not have this privilege to ask the Guruji.

They found Atimukta comi8ng out of his reverie He thought, “What have I done? I have sought the Lord’s shelter to lead my life-boat to its haven, what is the boat that I am now trying to sail in these waters? How stupid of me fellow monks.”

As a result of this repentance, Atimukta got the inner light. He was instantly liberated from this world as he was only thinking of the boat of life.

Moral:-If one is awakened state, any circumstance may become a catalyst in liberation.