Amar Vani

Author(s): Amarmuni
Publisher: Sanmati Gyan Pith Agra

Page 91

76
AMAR VANI
should not feel discouraged or frustrated by such occasional pitfalls. Having full faith in the essential purity and nobility of the soul, he must keep on advancing, step by step, on the path of purification, and he will attain the goal in the end.
And of course, one more thing shouid be kept in mind. Weeping and crying over your mistakes will do you no good. If you have committed some error or mistake, you must try to find out the root cause that led you to it, and with determination you must root out that cause. Hence Jaina philosophy enjoins upon man as much to make efforts to purify himself as to guard against such pitfalls that often tempt in this process of purification. This process of self-purification gradually cleanses away all the stains and spots that may have tarnished the soul. Gradually this process brings you nearer and still nearer to the portals of heaven and sets you on the path of liberation.
Inner Cleaning
On the festival of Diwali the goddess Laxmi is worshipped in every house. For this the house is cleaned and all dirt is thrown out. All houses are white-washed and coloured, so that they all put up a new face. Now I would ask you just one simple question : You have cleaned your house, but have you ever considered how much dirt has accumulated in the temple of your heart? What a dirt, what foul smell and what heaps of rubbish have accumulated there ? So long as your heart is dirty or black, the goddess Laxmi can never enter there. She would retrace her steps at the foul smell of evil deeds coming from your heart. However, if by any mis-chance she happens to get into