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Jaina Philosophy and Religion
they have fixed duration. He endures miseries and calamities with tranquillity and equanimity, understanding that they are the results of his own karma. Thus the strength of enduring them with tranquillity as also of keeping his life free from pride and gloom, he derives from the philosophy of moral causation. And surrender and devotion to God instils in the strength much peace, solace, consolation and inspiration.
If God were pleased by His praise and all formalities of devotion to Him, then He would surely be displeased with those who do not sing His praise and do not perform all formalities of devotion to Him. But God can never have such nature. He is totally free from attachment and aversion. He is perfect. He is of the nature of perfect bliss. He is called Viśvambhara (One who pervades and sustains the whole world). Our belief that God is pleased by our devotional songs and music, or by our gifts of ornaments or by our offerings of plates full of sweets, springs from our ignorance of His true nature. If man's mind is desirous of spiritual welfare, is disposed and devoted to God, is solely under His shelter and is becoming ever more pure by recalling His good qualities, then the brilliance and purity which the soul or mind attains is the natural gift earned by his own spiritual strength and merit-and not given by somebody. Recalling to our mind good qualities of God is not an ordinary means but a very strong and effective one. The rising strength of medi tation on the supremely pure, brilliant and bright Supreme Soul opens the closed doors of the heart of the meditator and makes such a powerful impact on him that his passions and infatuation suffer a great blow, entailing the spread into his heart of the light of purity of the object of meditation. Meditation on the pure and sublime object causes transmission of pure and sublime light waves from the object to the mind of the meditator. Similarly, meditation on the impure and evil object causes transmission of impure and evil light waves from the object to the mind of the meditator The kind of influence the mind is subjected to depends on the kind of the object meditated on. Meditation on, remembering of and devotion to attachment-free Supreme Soul are very effective in washing off the mental defilements of infatuation and delusion. Thus the benefit or gain which we secure of the mental purity, mental development and mental bliss through devotion to God can be regarded as God-given, but only secondarily or metaphorically. If it were in the hands of God to give light directly and primarily, then He would not allow darkness (ignorance) to persist in the mind of any being, He would turn the wicked and
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