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SARVODAYA TIRTHA
99
for him even to know that his mother is his father's woman? Well, he has nothing to do with this point
In the same manner, one who has the knowledge of the soul, if asked about it, will say, "The soul is like the soul.' Has it attachment, greed, delusion, anger, right outlook, wrong outlook ? he may be asked, and to these, may be, he is unable to give any reply For, he has not seen the soul in the light of these He has seen it, known it and felt it to be something pure, enlightened, free from delusion, attachment and greed
May be the ignoramous has known the soul as delusion, etc, seen it like these; but that is the outcome of his perverted outlook A wise man does not know the soul like that; so how can he describe it in terms of these ?
Looked at from the standpoint of category, attachment, greed, etc, are noticeable in the soul, but looked at as an object, particularly in a state where one has a feel of it, no distortion or perversion is visible in the soul So what does he care about it? If it is there, it is immaterial for him.
People may say, when one does not recognise attachment, greed, etc, in the soul, he does not know the soul. But we may ask, for knowing the soul, is it necessary to recognise attachment, greed, etc., in the soul? A wiseman does not know the soul through attachment, greed, etc, he knows that the soul is the eternal principle which contains knowledge and faith, and that passions like attachment, greed, etc., cannot enter in it May be a man who has realised the self cannot express it in so many words. But expression is not important, what is important is that he has realised it, and there the matter ends
Just as a boy who has recovered his mother does not remove his gaze from her, in the same manner when one has regained his knowledge of self forget about the true gods, texts and guru. He is lost in his self Objects and categories become inseparable Such a person has been described by a poet to be the 'minor son' (laghunandana) of a Jina
