________________
Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailashsagarsuri Gyanmandir
683
The Vaişņava Saints of .... kind and compassionate and can help her to cross the ocean of saṁsāra.' If He be approached by His devotees with proper preparation, with the sense of humility and sincere devotion, He delivers them by showing His grace.
Although Mir regarded Kțsņa as her Lord, the ideal of worship, she did not hate other Gods. She addresses the Almighty in different ways by the name of Rāma also. She believes that liberation (mukti) cannot be obtained without the name of the Lord Rāma (Ramanāma). She thinks it improper to join the company of the traditional Sādhus, wherein the Lord may even be adversely criticised; however, she believes in the efficacy of offering oneself to a good preceptor (sadguru) to reach the final state. Mīrā is doubtful about the efficacy of the traditional ways of devotion (bhakti), the vidhibhakti, where too much importance is attached to the external forms of purity and observances. She says that it is of no use to observe the external signs of bhakti or devotion without purging the heart of the passions like desire, greed, anger, and pride. The mind must not indulge in these desires and must detach itself from the objects of enjoyment. What is important is an inner sense of detachment (vairágya) and not merely the external abandonment of the objects of desire. One must effect a natural detachment from within honestly.* She
1 Chaturvedi Parashuram : Mirābāiki Padavali (Hindi), Poem 114, p. 41.
2 Ibid. Poem 160, p. 56. 3 Ibid. Poem 160, p. 56. 4 Ibid. Poem 162, p. 56.
For Private And Personal