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as a refuge. Having made the greatest joy arrive, the essence of virtue, having split the roots of existence, having put the sun and the moon to shame, having put an end to strife, the Siddhas (are my) refuge. Having gained the highest knowledge, having obtained things which are hard to obtain free from arrogance, pillars upholding the house of the world, without any activity, the Siddhas (are my) refuge.” 209
Siddha, without any activity, does not teach the path. Like the Siddha, Arhat (Tirthankara) perfected his self but unlike the former, the Arhat, out of his boundless pity for the suffering creatures took the self-imposed trouble of revealing, declaring and teaching the truths which he had realised. The Samavasarana of the Arhat was open to all beings of his time but was not eternal. It had its end and vanished with the Arhat, the divine. His (Arhat) words remained and the believers were left to solve their difficulties and regulate their conduct in the light of his revelations. The task of teaching and training disciples in the discipline which culminates in Siddhahood is carried on by ascetic sages who are themselves striving to reach the end of their journey in Siddhahood.210 The acharyas, the upadhyayas, the sadhus not only teach but practice what they teach. 3. THE ACHARYA
Acharya is ‘he who himself observes, five fold good conduct and makes others also to observe the same.'211 The five good conducts are :
i) Darshanachara - It is the turning of oneself to the faith that soul is separate from object. Pure consciousness is the only thing to be meditated on.
ii)Jnanachara - Samyag-jnana is the cognitive realisation that the self is essentially unconnected with delusion and attachment and aversion.
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THE CONCEPT OF DIVINITY IN JAINISM
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