________________
I am the Soul
771 Not just that, there you even believe that “my siddha state is within my self, why do I need to depend on anybody? I shall acquire what is my own within my self, by myself.' But no! Srimadji says to such jivas, “Inana, darshan and charitra are your own characteristics. They are not to be brought from outside. You are to awaken them from within your atma. But it will not work if you ignore the nimittas.” He says ---
एवां मूळ ज्ञानादि पामवा रे 377 Har hafa de ... Ho... उपदेश सद् गुरुनो पामवो रे
cro Falora a ufada ...4 ... If you want to attain the knowledge etc. which are your fundamental characteristics and if you want to break away from the bondage of infinite time, the first thing you should do is to listen to the advice of the Sadguru. You can never attain your own true form without lapping up Sadguru's advice, without letting it percolate within, without bringing it into practice.
But in doing so the two hurdles are svachchanda and pratibandha (unrestrained behaviour and obstruction). Srimadji in one of his letters has said, “The two biggest bondages in a jiva are svachchanda and pratibandha. One who wants to avoid svachchanda should follow the Guru's command and one who wants to avoid pratibandha has to renunciate all ties. Srimadji has already said a lot about svachchanda in the opening pages of this Shastra. The stubborn insistence of going by one's own opinion and pride is svachchanda.
What is pratibandha - obstruction, and of what? That which ties a jiva at every time is pratibandha. The jiva has the company of pudgal. It has attachment with the pudgal. There is the ego and pride within. All these feelings are obstructions for a jiva. A great saint may be around; that could be a great opportunity of satsang. But the jiva would be so engrossed in its attachment
Jain Educationa International
For Personal and Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
