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NEW IDEOLOGIES NEW TRADITIONS
167
The Lord would not equate masochism with the consequent degree of purification To a query from him the Lord once said, 'Torture to oneself is not material What is material is the high degree of purification 'I
On a request for further elucidation, the Lord added
'Gautam! There are two fabrics--one coloured with a fast dye and another coloured with a washable dye Which of the two would be bleached with difficulty and which one easily?'
'Stre, The one dyed with a fast dye shall be difficult to bleach'
'Gautam! The unrelenting latencies of an internal and mean existence persist Hence even the severest austerities fail to purge these'
'Sire, the cloth dyed with a washable dye washes easily'
'Gautam! The binding latencies of an austere soul are loose and hence nominal austerities purge him'
'How shall it be explained, sire ?' 'What happens when dry hay is committed to flames ?' 'It is reduced to ashes in no time'
What happens when a drop of water is dropped over a red-hot pan?'
'It is burnt off in a jiffy'
'Similar is the case with the latencies of a saintly soul They burn off easily"
The Lord evolved the spiritual regimen for shramanas and at the same time accepted the refined versions of the regimen of other schools The touchstone was non-violence as ever The tradition upheld self-mortification The Lord did not expressly denounce self-mortification but he purged it of the elements of violence
The Lord included self-mortification as an austerity But according to him its object is not the torturing of the body or
1 2
lbid 6/1 Ibid 6/4
