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Indian Ethnicity and Religious Heritage
which he or she belongs. This means that these salutations are to the merits and virtues which a person possesses. This concept is succinctly convayed by Acharya Shri Hemchandra, the venerated Jain preceptor of emperor Siddharaj Solanki who, after the destruction of Somnath temple by Mohamad of Gazni, Composed the verse which is translated as under at the time of its renovation:- "I bow down to him whose all passions such attachment and malice have been destroyed. It matters not whether he is Brahma, Vishnu, Shankar or a Jina". Another thing to be noted in this Mantra is that it does not ask for any gain - not even for condonation of past sins, because according to Jain conception one has to shed his sins by his own efforts as nobody-not even a Tirthankar (Jain Prophet) can condone the consequences of our past actions.
One can legitimately ask what would be the process by which he can destroy these real enemies of mankind? The answer is contained in understanding and appreciating the Jain doctrine of
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