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The Jaina Philosophy
Even the sacred writings have been mutilated by them. Many passages are altogether new. The Suttee, burning of widows on the funeral pile of their husbands, came to be sanctioned by a passage that has been changed by substituting one letter for another. In this way the sacred writings are interpreted as sanctioning those rights. There are hundreds of thousands of people who interpret the Vedas in the most exoteric
sense.
All the different sects and communities of India have different marks on their foreheads. They make those marks with some kind of paste that is fragrant. The Jainas use sandal wood. They make forms which represent different ideas. Very few people understand the original meaning of these marks. The mark the Jainas make on the forehead is of the form of the heart. It is made just between the two eyebrows, in the centre. Our physiology tells us there is a centre of nerves there, a plexus, which becomes a source of light, or inner, sight. When we go through a course of discipline, moral and spiritual, we see many things through this centre which we cannot see by the ordinary vision. When we make that sign we mean it is through this centre we are going to have great power of light. Our object in worshiping in the temple is not to acquire wealth, but to acquire that power by the aid of which we can see and know more. We want spiritual possessions.
As the people have different doctrinal beliefs they are represented by different signs. The Brahmins have different signs. They make three streaks on the forehead. The Jainas mean by their heart sign the religion of the heart. The Brahmins say it represents the three energies, the creative, preservative and destructive. Instead of representing, or keeping in mind the material energies of the world, the Jainas say it is the heart that is going to raise us by right living.
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