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Creeds, Sects are bodies and....
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for the Jains, nearby.” The monk reached that rest-house and asked the manager-in-charge about his staying for a night. He replied, “There is no room for a Sadhu belonging to the Sthanakwasi sect.” So the monk went on for another place. He saw one hut situated in a solitary, secluded place, the door of which was closed. Muni asked (loudly) from outside, “Wishing for a night-halt; is there any room ?” Opening the said door, one saint emerged and gave him a welcome. The monk says, “That saint opened the door not only of the hut, but the doors of mind also.”
The sectarian rigidity or narrowness closes the doors of magnanimity and friendly feelings. The Saint said, “Your Honour ! There is no other thing except a little milk, would you like to take it ?
The Muni replied, “A Jain Sadhu might not take anything after sun-set; and I have already taken up the nectar of your love and affection.”
It is necessary to separate religion and sect. So far as there is a religion living in it, not one, but thousands of sects even are a boon to mankind. When a particular sect neglects real ‘religion', it (the sect) begins to be stale like a pool of water. That is the reason why the seers and the wise men called the sect a 'body' and religion a 'soul'. After the soul leaves the body, it (the body) begins to rot. So we bid farewell to it by lighting a fire on the pyre. A sect or a creed is not important; the soul is important.
If we get entangled in the quarrels and controversies inspired by the sects or creeds, we shall be led astray from the righteous path. And if we long for the spirit of the soul or soulness, no matter to which sect or creed, 'gachcha' or a
