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ADVANCED ASCETICISM (DHUTA)
295
७२. जहा से दीवे असंदीणे, एवं से धम्मे आयरिय-पदेसिए। 72. Jahā se dive asamdine, evam se dhamme ayariya -
padesie
72.
Just as an island, unthreatened by water, serves (as a place of refuge for the passengers of a ship), so also does the Religion (i. e. Way of life), laid down by the Tirthankara, serve (as the mainstay for the people of this world who are bound for the Journey Beyond).
ANNOTATION 72. The word "diva" can be interpreted in two ways, 'divipal(island) and 'dipal (lamp or light or lighthouse). 'Dipa' gives us 'light' and divipa' gives 'shelter' or 'refuge'. Each of these two is of two kinds:
(a) Saidina: In the context of 'island', the word means 'the land which gets flooded with water high tide and becomes dry on ebb!. In the context of 'lamp' (or 'light'), it denotes 'the lamp which is liable to be extinguished.'
(b) Asamdina: In the context of 'island' the word means 'the land which does not get flooded with water.' In the context of 'lamp' or 'light', the word denotes 'perennial sources of light, such as the sun, the moon, various gems, etc.
In the context of religion, 'the Right Knowledge' (samya ktva) stands for 'an island affording refugel.
sensual pleasures and endeavours to find happiness in self-discipline. During the period of his sadhana, however, passionate instincts and impulses which might have been repressed and relegated to the subconscious, may continue to trrment him in the form of crude urges for sensual pleasures. Nevertheless the alert (apramatta) sadha ka would constantly reinforce the power of his reasoning mind and weaken the forces of primal urges by systematic practice of meditation. Thus, he canalises his aggressive urges into the mainstream of self-realization.
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