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I am the Soul
91
word and thought are all engulfed by papa, such a jiva has been ordered to perform punya to escape the papa. Secondly, the conducive environment necessary for a jiva's progress on the path of sadhana, will not be available without punya. Hence, there too performing punya is not only necessary for a jiva, it is also imperative.
The supreme soul - Tirthankar is endowed with the capability of saving so many souls by virtue of the Tirthankar Nama karma and this karma is in the form of a very strong Punya. Thus, for a jiva on the path of self improvement, the strength of Punya also comes in handy alongside spiritual results. Hence, punya is worth following.
But for attaining Moksa, the total obliteration of all Karma is expected. There, along with Papa karma, the punya karma also needs to be destroyed. Only then will the atma be totally pure. But then no efforts are necessary to give up punya. In fact, the ordinary jiva has no such prescription. For him punya is certainly worth following. But when the jiva, in the ascent of self-progress, passes beyond the eighth gunasthana, the level of nirjara becomes very high and punya too starts getting dissolved. As a result punya is naturally given up and the new bandha of punya is also gradually stopped. In this view, punya has been named as worth discarding.
Thus, understanding what is suitable where, -
त्यां त्यां ते ते आचरे, आत्मार्थी जन एह । one who follows it as indicated, will have activated the process of self-realisation.
In addition, it is also appropriate to identify a proper teacher - a Sadguru. With this understanding, one in search of selfrealisation must begin the search for a guru. It is proper to serve at the feet of a guru; one should do it. With what and how that is done, is a topic for another chapter.
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