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Mistake it for the description of Jina ...
Devoted practice of the three-fold path can be put in only by the soul-seeking - atmarthi jivas. The atmarthi has the knowledge of devoted practice and hence at the first good opportunity, he turns on to that path. A matarthi jiva who wallows in superficial feelings on the other hand, can never recognise the devoted practice. How can he, who does not realise that the devoted practice is his duty, practice at all?
The Matarthi jiva evaluates every device of devoted practice in his own way and believes his evaluation to be apt. In the practical field, where matters that concern your personal life are involved, your evaluation is acceptable. But when something is not limited to you alone, there you have to accept the society's evaluations. Your values which are meant only for you, may not be approved by the society. And on a broader base, the evaluations offered by the Mahapurushas still hold good.
In the spiritual field too, the norms about the understanding of devoted practice and conduct follow the values laid out by the ancient Mahapurushas who practised this path and attained success. If those values are not acceptable to us, then we are bound to be stuck in wandering.
The matarthi jiva too finds the devices of devoted practice, but being in a confusion over their value and true form, they do not prove useful in the progress of the Soul. In the field of utility in your practical life, the devices that you found were first recognised, understood and then evaluated. Proper devices that end up in the hands of proper persons not only make living life a simpler process but also offer a pleasure of the mind. But a device in improper hands becomes useless. In the same way the matarthi does not recognise, understand or know how to use the external and internal devices that he finds and hence cannot find the path of the soul's progress.
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