________________
Räjgeetä
literally means the state of concealment. Here it relates to concealment of the omniscient state. The state, in which the true nature of soul remains concealed by virtue of the impact of Karma, is called Chhadmastha.
This stanza relates to a situation where the disciple might have gained omniscience, while the Guru has remained Chhadmastha; he could be self-realized but has not yet gained omniscience. That has actually happened in several cases. For instance, Gautamswämi could not forgo the wholesome attachment for Lord Mahaveer and hence did not gain omniscience during the Lord's lifetime, though many of his own pupils had attained it.
There is also the classic example of Chandanbälä and her pupil Mrugavati. On account of the illusion arising out of Lord's aura, Mrugävati once stayed in the Lord's assembly beyond the sunset. As she arrived late at her place, Chandanbälä reprimanded her for not infringing the code that forbids monks and nuns to stay out after sunset. Mrugävati felt very sorry for that lapse and went into deep remorse. Since the remorse had arisen from the innermost corner of her heart, it resulted in destroying all her Karmas and she attained omniscience that very night. By virtue thereof she could notice, in the dark of the night, a snake passing by the hand of Chandanbälä, who was asleep. Thereupon Mrugävati lightly moved aside her hand. That caused Chandanbälä to wake up and she came to know of the pupil's omniscience. She felt very sorry for reprimanding such an elevated soul. She too went into deep remorse and attained the omniscience.
The reverence is thus of fundamental importance in spiritual pursuit. By resorting to it one can make progress beyond imagination. The pupil, who gains omniscience
32