________________
THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH.
791
in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him not likewise return back."-(Luke, XVII. 31.)simply means that the desire for all worldly concerns must be given up at that supreme moment, for "wheresoever the carcass [the bundle of the objects of desire) is, there will the eagles [desiring manas] be gathered together [attracted]." Remember Lot's wife (Luke, XVII. 32), for as she was turned into a column of salt, in consequence of her looking back on the world, so shall all those who 'look back' be accounted unworthy to obtain salvation.
"
There is no question in all this of a public or official redeemer of souls, or of the establishment of a new order of things on a general resurrection of the dead.
There is no trace of an universal resurrection, on a particular day, even in the following mystic passages which were uttered in connection with the coming of the son of man :--
""
"In that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
"Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
"Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left."-Luke, XVII. 34-36.
Besides, if rewards and punishments are to remain in the mind of a divine judge till the Judgment Day, and only to be adjudged when the world shall have ceased to exist, how shall the meek inherit the earth (Matt. V. 5)? The true interpretation of this passage lies in the doctrine of transmigration of souls, which points out that rewards and punishments are meted out to each and every soul in this very world, and that the most coveted boons
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org