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posture of Yoga is well described in the Bhagavad-Gita, VI. 13 and 14, which makes Krishna say :
" Holding the body, head and neck erect, immovably steady, looking fixedly at the point of the nose, with unseeing gaze, the self serene, fearless, firm in the vow of the Brahmachari, the mind controlled, thinking on Me, harmonised, let him sit aspiring after Me."
Such is the posture for devotion, and material assistance in making it firm can be obtained by a contemplation of the serene, dispassionate images of the Jaina Tirtbamkaras.
Thus, the three advantages enumerated above which spring from the worship of the Jinas cannot be gainsaid. It is well to remember that the realization of the Ideal of Perfection and Bliss is possible only when the soul is impressed with its own divine nature, not when its
Such is the true significance of “Nelson-worship" which takes place on the Trafalgar Day annually. It is not idolatry that we can charge against the English, but idealatry, which, if a fault, is one that has been the source of unparalleled greatness to the culprit'!
The Jaina form of worship is, similarly, an instance of idealatry, for devotion to God in Jainism only means devotion to the attributes of Divinity which the devotee wishes to develop in his own soul, and consists in the blending of the fullest measure of love and respect for those Great Ones who have evolved out those very attributes to perfection in their own case. The Jainas ask for nothing from their Tirthamkaras; no prayers are ever offered to them, nor are They supposed to be granting boons to their devotees. They are not worshipped because worship is pleasing to Them, but because it is the source of the greatest good--the attainment of Godly perfection-to our own souls....... The causal connection between the ideal of the soul and the worshipping of those who have already realised it, is to be found in the fact that the realisation of an ideal demands one's whole-hearted attention, and is only possible by following in the foot-steps of those who have actually reached the goal.
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