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Gandhi's Teachers : Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta
path to liberation, and attain ultimate goal of mokshu, nirvana, or kevalya. Different religious traditions recommend the search and adoption of a true teacher in own ways and also indicate how to serve and revere hiin to obtain the means of soul-liberation. The verses in this section recoinmend the forsaking of self-freedoms, obstinacy, and pride, etc. and adoption of devotion, humility, and reverence to the noble teacher for realizing the supreme goals of self-knowledge and soul-liberation. Without the teachings of the true teacher, these goals are not possible. The true teacher is indicated more important than the scriptures and helps control delusionborn self-freedoms, obstinacy, and pride more easily and helps attain the goal of soul-liberation. One must always revere true teacher and beware of untrue teacher. Untrue teacher doubles delusions, ignorance, deceit, vanity, pride, passions, etc. and makes one go through repeated births and deaths. A soulseeker is aware of this fact, while a person absorbed in own whims is not. Who is a noble teacher is also indicated in these verses.
Non-Seeker of Soul
(Verses 23-32) A person with own whims cannot be a soul-seeker. Such a person takes one without knowledge and absorbed in external renunciation as true teacher or one from own caste, describes Jina in terms of external features and qualities, and confounds the truth. Even in association with a true teacher, such a person maintains perverse views and follows untrue teacher with determination chiefly to gratify own vanity. He takes scriptural knowledge to be a hindrance in godly progress and own beliefs as the reason for liberation. He does not attain orientations and characteristics of godly path, but remains falsely prideful of such orientations, desires reverence from other people, and does not attain liberation. He adopts true knowledge to the point of lip service, but does not adopt noble behaviors and remains bereft of the means of liberation. He is neither situated in knowledge and nor is equipped with the means for it. He
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