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Jaina Philosophy and Religion
fulfilling the said purpose for which they are formulated. One should bear in mind that righteous conduct is the foundation or essence of religion, without which neither philosophical views nor the external rituals are capable of rescuing man from the miseries of worldly existence.
Different religious sects are destined to stay for ever in the world. They are not going to be abolished or destroyed. And it is not necessary to wish their abolition. One belonging to this or that sect can elevate oneself treading on the path of righteousness, even while adhering to one's own sect. Adherence to one's own sect is not wrong; what is wrong is sectarianism. On account of blinding infatuation and attachment for one's own sect to denigrate and depreciate other sects is fanaticism, which is pernicious to the individual and social health. Even while remaining in and adhering to one's own sect, one should keep the doors of his mind open for other wholesome thought-currents. Examining with impartial and judicious intellect, if one finds any system of thought right and beneficial to life, one should be liberal enough to accept it. We should also understand that anyone belonging to any sect certainly attains spiritual good if he, even while remaining in one's own sect, cultivates brotherhood and friendliness with the adherents of other sects and treads on path of righteousness.
God-Spiritual Teacher—Religion The soul in the body is, essentially in its pristine original nature, the supreme soul—God, but because it is veiled and soiled by the coverings of karmic matter it wanders in the transmigratory existence. Yet it can remove the adventitious impurities and shine in its original pristine light, that is, it can attain non-attachment and thereby divinity. Thus whoev has attained divinity is God; one who is free from attachment is God. God, according to the Jainas, is not eternally free, but has worked out his own freedom or liberation exactly in the same way as the others do.
Our highest goal is to attain this divinity, that is, to manifest the supreme spiritual light. The ascetic saint who has renounced the world, who is self-controlled and without any possessions, and who is rightly engaged in the spiritual efforts of removing the defilements and thereby manifesting the supreme spiritual light, the divinity, is the true spiritual teacher. It is he who can acquaint us with the true spiritual goal, explain us as to what non-attachment means and how to attain it. It is he who can effectively teach us the truth about spiritual matters. In short, it is he who
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