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NEW IDEOLOGIES NEW TRADITIONS
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with the movement The Brahmins and the Vaisyas also felt inclined to join it The religious movement virtually became a popular movement However, it was left to the monks to propagate it The Lord carefully continued to tone up their activities in this regard
Once the monks discussed amongst themselves that unless the ceremony of initiation implied condemnation of body how can the caste be deemed to be condemnable ? The Lord came to know of this debate. He summoned the group and preached-Aryans, have you seen a snake's slough?'
We have, sire' 'Do you know noble beings, how it affects the snake ?' 'Sire, when slough covers it, the snake ceases to see!'
'And Aryans! caste is like a slough on human body It blinds the human being He regains his sight only after discarding the slough That's why I exhort the saints to shed caste as a snake does its slough He should never take pride in his caste He should never be scornful to anybody on that account '1
(5) The mode of greeting was duly prescribed in the order It was so ordained that the junior monk was required to pay respects to the one senior in initiation It posed a problem to a monk once He abdicated to embrace monkhood One of his servants had sought initiation even before he did The monarch-turned monk was obsessed with his high origin He did not greet the servant-turned monk The Lord came to know of it The Lord summoned the monks and thus addressed them 'In a social order a person might be a monarch, another servant and a third servant to a servant However, once one joins my holy order one ceases to be a monarch or a servant The Gxternal appendages having been discarded, the initiated beings attain a status where all are equal without any distinction whatsoever Hence none need be ashamed of respecting a senior monk The soul shall be installed in
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'Suyagado , 1/2/23, 24
