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Bhagawan Mahavir )
[ 219
When the feeling of attachment goes away from the mind, when one is not troubled by such considerations as 'This is mine,'. That is thine,' then alone the feeling of “ Equality' springs up in his heart, and it is the attainment of this position which entitles a man to give alms. A Man who has not acquired this feeling of equality cannot be liberal and frank in giving. A miser should shudder at the very thought of giving charity. He would rather faint if he could hear somehow of donation of more than three thousand million gold coins. For he has learnt only to hide or to take, 'and not to give. That is the resson why he is caught tightly in the clutches of attachment.
Attachment, which is the root cause of all kinds of sins, is the cause of karmic bondage. The more a man is attached to this world the more liable is he to pass through the cycle of births and deaths for and endless number of ages. It is on account of this very reason that the first advice of Lord Mahavira to the mistaken people of this world was to break the shackles of attachment; and to attain this end. He started the system of almis-giving, which is the first and the chief means of attaining salvation. A man can save himself from being ground in the mill of karmic bondage by leaving his selfishness which gives birth to attachment, and attachment brings in its tail joys and sorrows which catch a man in karmic bonds. Therefore it is necessary that readers should try to give up attachment and learn to give gifts to others so that they might go nearer the realm of liberation.
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