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consecrated.
MEDITATION A MUST FOR ATTAINING SALVATION
Dt. 05-07-1982
A devotee who is able to achieve concentration through the idol, feels the presence of God therein and expresses his joy by singing hymns, reciting verses, chanting, offering fruits. The lighting of a lamp symbolises his plea to God to make his heart illumined.'
Temples-our treasures-have kept up many social and ethical traditions alive. The bell that tolls provides not only pleasant musical sound but is believed to remove the impurities from the atmosphere. The temples as well as places of pilgrimage afford shelter. The aged, who have nothing to do but require peace of mind can spend their time quietly there. In temples there is no difference between the rich and the poor, it is indeed a meeting place of the rural and urban population. All these go to prove that a man who has no faith in religion will also honour these abodes as the repositories of social benefits.
On the occasion of the consectration of the Mannadi Jain temple, Sri Pannyas Rajyashvijay explained how the images of Tirthankaras (Jain spiritual leaders) are not only attractive but enable persons to meditate on them. It is a fact that the atmosphere in temples helps in the practice of maditation. The purity, serenity, devotional fervour and the cool climate by virtue of the water in the reservoirs have telling effect on the worshipper.
Our system of offering worship in shrines incorporates many scientific, religious and psychological principles, based on the rich experience of saintly elders, who had also prescribed certain rules while visiting these holy places.
But the temples are essentially religious centres. Meditation is a necessary ingredient to obtain salvation. To practise this meditation, an object which can be retaind in the mind forever and the devotion are the two prime requisites. It is true that an image by itself cannot become God, but to express one's devotion to God, one should visualise an object and the thing best is an idol that has been duly
