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I am the Soul is made of gold and has been bedecked with jewels, it has no value. It is merely a decorative piece. Similarly, however beautiful a body may be, it has no value. In due course of time, the animate substance atma of unthinkable power, which resides in the body, will abandon it and go away. Then the body is bound to turn into ash. It has to meet the dust. Aha! Look at the unique strength of the atma. So long as it remains in the body, the body's beauty, build and healthiness remain. And from the very next moment that the atma leaves the body and goes away, it begins to deteriorate. That is why, the body has no value, the atma does. The scabbard has no value, the blade does.
मोल करो तलवारका, पड़ा रहन दो म्यान
The scabbard may very well be dropped, but do evaluate the blade as to how sharp it is. Learn how useful it is. Whatever may be the specie or type of the body, it may well be big or small, it may well be beautiful or ugly; that is of no significance. Recognise the infinitely knowledgeable and blissful atma that resides in it.
Thus Gurudev helped recognise the infinitely strong atma, and simultaneously explained its form through the principle of Syadvada and showed the means of its liberation. Gurudev's explanation of the path of moksa in the form of samvar and nirjara is also his immense benevolence. The jiva begins with dharma after the onset of samvar. Of them, the first samvar is the seed of knowledge – samyag darshan. Only when samyagdarshan arrives, does mithyatva, in the form of asrava from infinite time, leave. As long as there is mithyatva, the journey of dharma does not begin. The virtues of good conduct and principles can inculcate into the life. The jiva can even begin to pursue the path. But that journey of dharma which gradually elevates the jiva on the steps of spiritual progress cannot begin at all.
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