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Mahavira & Pathway to Liberation /31
7.
Stages of progress
Simplicity, humility, compassion and serenity, enable the soul to acquire human birth. The vain, the greedy, the quarrelsome and the deceitful people are not worthy of acquiring scriptural knowledge. Deception, fraud, lies and malpractices in trade are animal instincts which drag the soul to sub-human existence. The present moment is important, strive to make it fruitful. It is not possible to get enlightenment again and again. Absorb the meaningful and relinquish the meaningless. One should care for this body so as only to reduce the accumulated karmic bondage. Nobility of conduct is necessary for moving the wheel of righteousness. Wealth is not necessary for righteousness. No task daunts the courageous. If one is inactive, his qualities become defects in due course.
