________________
252
archaic conditon and has accoinplished half its round only. The other half is easy to that man who can conquer ignorance and erroneous ideas of things.
There is no ready made path for us. The first step is to realise the difference between the real and the unreal, between spiritual and non-spiritual. No man can progress until he learns to distinguish between himself and his body.
There are different kinds of souls. First, there are souls that identity themselves with the external, that believe the body is the real self. Observe a man and see if he identifies his consciousness with his body. If he does belong to this class, and as long as he clings to this idea he will have to live in an einbɔdied condition and he cannot be liberated. Incarnation, according to all the Oriental schools is above all thing to be avoided. Some people in this country have an erroneous idea that incarnation is a good thing. It is not good in it self, only as a means to an end.
Second, there are souls that deal with the subjective state. These know that the real self is different from body and different froin mind, but they are not totally liberated from the body.
Third: Supreine Soul or Spirit. The process of growing out of the external to the Supreme conditon
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
