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Gandhi's Teachers : Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta
of information on this point as well as other points mentioned here. 15
An explicit purpose of this work is to shed light in the four subject areas mentioned in the earlier paragraph and help people attain self-realization through a slow and steady progress on liberation path. All religions have prescribed a liberation path comprising of some kind of metaphysics, theology, philosophy, and practices like ethics, rituals, worship, offerings, devotion, charity, etc. Absorbed in own viewpoints and without paying heed to each other, conceptual philosophers and ritualists proclaim that their way is the path to liberation and these verses suggest that both of these groups have misguided notions and suffer from delusions. Liberation is possible only if the two approaches of knowledge and practice are combined; otherwise one forever stays under the influence of delusions and in bonded state. Love, compassion, sympathy, humility, forgiveness, etc. are also helpful and are to be cultivated for soul-liberation. Some people suggest that soul is forever pure and situated in own knowledge and that the bonded state of soul is merely an illusion. This may be true, but consequences of the illusion are real, just as painful happenings in dream state may be an illusion but the experience on the part of the dreamer is real. The same is the case regarding soul delusions and one must awaken (selfrealize) to get rid of the bonded state of soul. Cultivation of external renunciation is not sufficient. Not only external renunciation serve no purpose, it even makes one forget the real ideal of self-realization. True inner renunciation and forsaking of worldly pleasures are essential for soulliberation.
Necessity of A True Teacher
(Verses 9-22) These verses point to the necessity of quitting own obstinacy and serving the noble teacher in order to realize supreme truth and gain self-knowledge. A noble teacher is indicated as one who has soul knowledge, is equipoised, has mastery of the
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