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PHILOSOPHY OF SOUL
505
Jain sages have made very deep and scholarly study on this very doctrine, but you stop at panch Prati Kraman and in that case how can you reach the goal of this great doctrine of relativity. This is indeed a matter of great regret that the followers of the Omniscient Lord are ignorant of even ordinary level of knowledge.
Knowledge begets right faith, enhances virtues of righteous conduct and helps in studying scriptures but they are all without purpose for an ignorant man. Here the word 'ignorant' means a man with scanty knowledge and not without knowledge at all. Such state of being totally devoid of knowledge never existed ; even in the state of a smallest possible creature infinite part of knowledge of that creature remains exposed and this means that the soul even in such a state possessed even smallest possible degree of knowledge. If knowledge did not belong to a being at all then such a being would be identified completely with a non-sentient body. It is inde an offence to relish in ignorance. Someone has rightly remarked : "Ignorance is the greatest crime, greater than malice or any other demerit, as the soul encompassed with ignorance would hardly discriminate what is beneficial and what is detrimental".
Today all leading men of erudition of the world advocate the cause of knowledge as, with knowledge only man can run his worldly affairs properly and can achieve advancement in life; but achievement of knowledge cannot be had so easily. One has to make hard efforts and endure many difficulties to secure knowledge.
We would call them only distinguished fools who getting nervous on the advent of difficulties say: "Even the learned have to die as the ignorant men would die. Death is common to all then why should one worry or bother to break head with scriptures--study them”. Those who bore various miseries and faced difficulties and studied the scriptures were distinguished as scholars and obliged numerous people. Those who did not study were annoyed with difficulties, were distinguished as ignorant and fools feeding their belly as crows and dogs do. Is there any importance of such living?
You should also impart religious teachings to your children along with worldly teachings. Such religious knowledge imparted to them only will enable them to study scriptures with consequent understanding of scriptures and faith in the substances elucidated by Omniscient Lords. Then only they will render their life fruitful.
