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RITUAL
: The Prophet, too, taught : "Dread the day wherein one soul shall not make satisfac
tion for another soul ; neither shall any intercession be accepted from them, por shall any compensation be re
ceived, neither shall they be helped" (Sara Baqr). And in the Jaina Scriptures the helpless condition of the unemancipated soul is actually appointed a subject for meditation. This is how this particular form of meditation runs: -
"None can help the jiva in his troubles; he alone has to bear
his pain and suffering; friends, relations, wife and children te powerless to combat suffering and disease; akarnia is the only protector of the helpless."-(The Practical Patb,
p. 53). It is this want of a protector that is likened to the condition of orphanage. The mother referred to is the understanding which at first arrives at a low estimate of the nafs. The inarket is the world of strife and bustle where meu offer their 'goods' for the necessaries and comforts of life. Here the worldly man goes out to sell his soul for three pieces of gold, to be explained anon. The angel in human guise is the effect of meritorious deeds in the past lives appearing as a good counsellor. The insistence on the consultation of the understanding (the mother) is an indication of wisdom, that avoids doing things rashly. The refusal of a more tempting offer still is an indication of self-restraint. The Israelite killed is the soul that is slain by its relation, the bahiratinan-he who shall find bis life shall lose
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