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valid testimony. The next question was, be anything else - a compilation, a creative 'Who is an Apta (Realised One)?' They work, a treatise, or a book - but they cannot answered, 'An Apta is one who preaches the be called the revelation of a Tirthankar, nor truth. He whose word is free of all can they be called scripture. contradiction, irrelevance, or irrationality is a Realised or Venerable One. Words that can According to the Uttaradhyayan-Sutra, only neither counter, nor be invalidated by other that literary work which inspires one testimonies, are revelations. The statement towards the practice of kshama, tapa, and from the Acharya, quoted above, proves ahimsa, and thus awakens the soul, can be beyond doubt which words and whose called scripture. This is such a sound and words can be accepted as testimony to the excellent method of testing what the truth. No matter how large or a reputable scriptures are that, if we use it as a yardstick the book, do not ever accept as revelations to sort them out, we are bound to progress of a Tirthankar, words in it that are not in the right direction. truthful, or that fail to stand the test of the truth. By so doing you prove your own Whenever I have presented these views to genuineness, and the authenticity of the fellow munis and other spiritual seekers, they revelation.
have said, " What you say is true, but how
can we say that we do not accept a We should make the Decisions particular Agama as scripture? If we did so, it I have discussed these finer points of logic so would create havoc. Shravaks would lose that we can awaken our intellect and decide their faith and our religion would suffer a for ourselves what scripture truly is, and setback". I am astonished at the cowardice what its purpose. Let us also conclude that of this timid and reactionary response. What those works, which are not in keeping with sort of mentality do we have? We the definition and purpose we have just understand that something is true, but we discussed, are not scriptures at all. They can cannot say so, for fear of what people might
*aptopadošan sabdah, Sankleyadarshax. 1/101 - Nyuryadarshan 1/1/
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