Life of Shrimad Rajchandra

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 74

studying, with an unbiased mind, the books dealing with soul and those suggested by the Guide for in-depth study. Self-indulgence, which is hard to be overcome by the scriptural study and such other means, can be easily overcome by direct contact with the true Guide. One, who gives up self-indulgence and differences of opinions, can gain the right perception. Thereby one can get rid of the internal enemies like ego and other defiling instincts.
The detached Lords have said that reverence is the basis of religion. As such, the pupil is asked to develop devotion for the true Guide. Simultaneously, a warning is given that if a wrong guru takes disadvantage of the pupil for the sake of being treated as a true guide, he would acquire the immense deluding Karma and extend his worldly wandering. Whether the liberation-seeker belongs to the monastic order or to the lay one, he should keep this in mind.
Since a truth-seeker needs to give up sectarianism, this part then lays the characteristics of the sectarian, which need to be avoided. Thereafter it gives those of truth-seekers, which need to be adopted. If a pupil has the qualifications laid in those stanzas and if he gets instructions from a true Guide, he would surely gain self-realization and that would lead to the eternal bliss of liberation. Then by enumerating the six fundamentals in stanza 43, it is specified that what is now going to be stated is of the essence of six schools of thought and it is stated by the enlightened beings for providing identification of soul.
Only those who are self-realized, are the true Guides; others, inclusive of those fancied as family priests, cannot be beneficial. A truth seeker should have the firm determination that if he comes across a true Guide, he would act, mentally, vocally as well as physically, as directed by him and proceed on the path of liberation. As such, giving up all the desires other than liberation, reducing the defiling instincts like anger, and feeling tired of the worldly wandering, he sets in his mind the objective of uplifting the soul and looks for a true Guide. As he gets such a Guide, whatever doubts he had in the mind, he humbly and simply puts to him in the form of six questions and the Guide removes those doubts with his answers.
1) Doubting the existence of soul, the pupil first raises the questions from the point of view of an atheist.
Pupil: Soul is not visible, its form cannot be comprehended and there is no other experience of it. As such, I think that either there is no soul or it is the same as the body.
Guru: You are thinking of soul in the physical form because of your attachment for the body, but the enlightened beings have visualized body and soul as different; they have manifestly different characteristics; if you contemplate over that, you will be able to make out that soul and body are different like a sword and its sheath.
Pupil: If soul is in the form of body, senses or breath, it can be clearly identified. What are other characteristics of soul apart from that?
Guru: All the objects can be seen with eyesight, but soul is the seer of the eyesight as well as of the objects. The unobstructed experience, which stays after an activity is over or even after loss of the physical limbs, senses etc. represents the nature of soul.
Pupil: If there is soul, why is it not seen like a pot, cloth etc.? If it does exist, it should be noticed. Since it is not noticed, there is no soul. As such, the measures, which people resort to for the sake of liberation, seem imaginary. Graceful Guru, please show me the correct way to solve this knotty problem of mine.
Guru: When the body is dead, it does not recognize itself or other objects like pot, cloth etc. The sense organs and respiration are manifestly lifeless and as such, they also are not capable to know themselves or others. Moreover, the sense organs cannot make out anything beyond the objects of the respective sense, while the soul knows the objects of all the five senses. Body and