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774
I am the Soul
If you have the eyes of knowledge and the legs of activity, then there will be rapid progress along the path of moksa. Otherwise, you remain in an undeveloped state and continue to wander in the material world. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that if upadana is in the form of niscaya, then nimitta is in the form of vyavahara.
That jiva which has understood this, harbours the thought of nimitta along with preparing its upadana. In the Sukhavipaka Sutra, there is a section on Subahukumar. He had taken twelve vows. Once while he was keeping a vigil in the poshadhashala after performing poshadha, it occurred to him, "How fortunate that land and the city is where Shramana Bhagawant Mahaveer was travelling and how fortunate are those jivas who are going across the ocean of sansara with the proximity of Prabhu. When will I get such an opportunity? If Prabhu Mahaveer were to come, I would renunciate every tie with the material world and get ordained at the feet of Prabhu'. Subahukumar's strong desire brought Prabhu Mahaveer to the city of the former and he was then ordained into the ascetic order.
Brothers! Subahukumar desired a nimitta. He prepared his own upadana and the moment he got the nimitta, he absorbed it and attained the betterment of his soul. He is bound to become a Siddha in due course.
Here Srimadji says that moksa is attainable only if nimitta is absorbed, and not otherwise. Those who ignore nimitta remain in the illusion that they are attaining something, but do not gain anything.
Here we have been told what the stubborn jiva is losing and where. In spite of being in the form of Siddha itself, it is unable to attain it because of its own folly. If this fault is rectified, then the true form of Siddha can certainly be attained.
Now, where else the life can wander, will be learnt later ...
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