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I am the Soul
113 quench the thirst of a thirsty, yet if a glass of sweet water were to be here, it would quench the thirst."
Only a Sadguru can understand the scriptures formed by the Lord Jina. The scriptures show the path. They do not give us the essence. Essence lies within the Sadguru. The principles mentioned in the scriptures are mysterious. Those mysteries cannot be solved by our own intellect. The infinite mysteries of the Agams cannot be understood without surrendering to a Guru. The Agams can even mislead if not understood properly. The depth of the infinite knowledge cannot be reached without the help of a sage.
Another important aspect to be considered is that, the Lord Jineshwar in spite of having achieved the totality, is absent and hence our mind cannot concentrate or remain steady up on his thought-meditation. While looking at the gentle radiance of the present Sadguru's strong soul and beholding his extraordinary strengths, we too become naturally radiant and can equate ourselves in his thoughts - meditation. Similarly, beholding the one whose strong soul is awakened and active on the path of penance, our own dormant soul awakens and becomes active on that path with a radiance.
Here let us consider our ancient mantra, the Namokar mantra. Of the five strings, the first is ‘Namo Arihantanam' and the second is ‘Namo Siddhanam'. Of these two, considering from the point of cleansing of the soul, Siddha is the first. For Siddha has attained the forever pure, all-knowing, and spotless state by destroying all the eight karmas. Whereas Arihant is still bound by the four aghati karmas. Where there is karma there is impurity. As such the soul of Arihant is not totally purified. In the Jain tradition which values virtues, the status of Siddha is higher from the viewpoint of purity. So the first salutation in the mantra should be to Siddha. Not just that, Arihant also bows before Siddha. Thus Siddha Bhagawant occupies the highest category. The
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