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The Path of Arhat : A Religious Democracy
Self, the starting point
They point out that the essential and basic requirement of spiritual development is the full conviction about the nature of the 'self' and the efficacy of the role of Nine Tattvas in the spiritual journey. This conviction is the starting point in the journey. This spiritual journey is possible only after one is convinced that material objects of the world are alien to the ‘self', that the real nature of the 'self' is all Bliss and all joy, also that this bliss and joy are not available to him because the luminosity of the 'self' is clouded by the material karmas due to the attachment towards worldly objects, foreign to it, it would naturally set on finding out the means for dispelling clouds of these material karmas. In fact, every one of us inherits the capacity to dispel the clouds, i. e., alien materials covering the soul. What is required is the will and the eagerness to realise the real nature of self. Will and Eagerness
The basic question is that the basic postulates of every spiritual development, i. e., will and eagerness to realise the real nature of self cannot be developed through any mechanical formula. They emanate from within only by experience which in turn is gained mainly by thinking process. Capacity to think and to distinguish, is the only feature which distinguishes a human being from the rest of the animal world. It follows, therefore, that the more we develop our thinking process the more we are utilising our existence as a human
g. If an intelligent survey of human behaviour is carried out it will be noticed that most of us do not bestow proper thought and study our day to day experiences in life. We take many things for granted and do not bother to analyse the factors leading to a particular happening in our life or in the lives of those around us. So, to develop the habit of objective observation of everything that happens to us as well as around us is the first essential. This habit of objective observation will naturally introduce in our thinking process the principle of Nayavāda ( doctrine of multiple aspects )
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