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I am the Soul
605 For instance, the city Police – for the work that it does, it is given a uniform. It is not as if this uniform provides any physical or mental strength. But the public abides by what the Policeman says when he is in the uniform. If the same man were to be in civilian dress, nobody would know that this man is a protector. So attire is for an arrangement, for a civilisation, for an identity.
Similarly, the body may be clothed in any attire, the external customs may be varying, but if the atma has become purified, then Veetaraag state can certainly be attained. Srimadji has said in the gatha -
साधे ते मुक्ति लहे
One who does the sadhana, attains siddhi. Whatever the caste, attire, religion, sect or community, no difference remains anywhere whatsoever.
Gurudev has provided a pleasant satisfaction to the doubt that had been nagging the mind of the disciple that only jivas of a certain caste and attire attain moksa, and that others don't.
Until now the doubts were cleared. Now Gurudev tries to tell how the inner state of a jiva should be if it is desirous of attaining moksa. The importance is of the inner state. External customs-thinking, attire, caste-dynasty all are insignificant. Therefore, now how should the primary state be, of a jiva desirous of attaining moksa? Srimadji now tells us what sort of feelings a jiva, truly anxious to realise the atma, carries -
कषायनी उपशांतता, मात्र मोक्ष अभिलाष;
Hà Biar cun, à chaty faith .....806
This gatha, with a small difference, has also appeared earlier in the Atmasiddhi Shastra, which indicates how necessary these virtues are for a jiva desirous of attaining moksa. Here it is reiterated - who is eligible to be on the path to moksa? The first phrase we have just deliberated upon in the previous chapters. A
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