________________
अनुसंधान - १७• 71
universal, but a spiritual Master can function here as a Master only so long as he lives in a physical body. The Gita was spoken to Arjuna by the living Kṛṣṇa. The very reason that impelled God to take a human body in the first place suggests that such work as he has to do can be done only in a human body. If it were otherwise, then he never had a need of coming in human form.25
Jesus Christ too said: "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.26 Every Master is the light of the world. He brings with him the light of the Eternal One. If anyone centers his attention upon the Master and walks in his light, there can be no more darkness in him If the disciple opens the gates of light in himself, as the Masters urge him to do, he walks unobstructed into the kingdom of heaven. But he can do this only by the light of the living Master. It was this elementary truth which Jesus was trying to inculcate.27
Usually when people accept a book as the authoritative word of God, then they assert that all revelation is closed. The last word has been said. Believe it now or be condemned. This has been the supreme tragedy of history. The Vedas, the Sastras, the Purāņas, the Gita, the Mahabharata and the Rāmāyana, the Zend-Avesta, the Bible and the Koran, and other religious scriptures - all these books are to be worshipped and obeyed. They are declared, ex cathedra, to be the inspired word of God. Ergo, it is the duty of all men to accept and believe them. And all of them are fetters to intelligence. No matter how good they may be in themselves, they become fetters because their followers insist that all revelation be closed. All spiritual instructions are finished. Instead of listening to a living Master in each age, their respective books are considered to be the infallible word. Crystallization of thought always goes before moral stagnation. Without a living Master
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
