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Sugandha: Sweet Fragrance
573
demands from them of wisdom, good sense and discernment as to how it must be applied when they are confronted with difficult and unforeseen situations in a particular historical, sociological and geographical context.3 We realise the more clearly how many sādhvis have lived and live today a heroic existence, usually without knowing it, and how they have been and still are true disciples of Mahavira.
Another remarkable element in these writings is that of bhakti. Saints of all ages and traditions attract a following, each in his or her own way and in accordance with his or her special charism, but within the Jaina dharma there are ontological and doctrinal reasons which gives ground for a veneration of holy men and women in their own lifetime. On the one hand, fervent sādhvis represent that ideal towards which all śrávakas and śrāvikās must strive and, on the other, the fact that belief in a God, Lord, loving Father and Saviour, does not exist coupled with the fact that one must journey alone on an arid path, naturally inclines towards a profound devotion for those who, having shed their '
me', are already in communion with all living beings, welcome them, love them, instruct them and, as one might put it, help them to save themselves. Nothing is more revealing or more touching than the eulogistic poems composed in honour of or to the memory of a sādhvi by different members of the samgha. This veneration is always expressed with great sobriety in this sense that it is attuned to the life of ascetic discipline, for even if sådhvis have been a focus of attention and inspiration for multitudes of people, these same multitudes can offer them in return absolutely nothing of a tangible sort, neither flowers, nor incense, nor money, nothing whatsoever.5
3 In the sections which follow no cross-references, on the whole, have been made to those chapters of this part that deal with daily activities, because these are presumed to be known already and we thus avoid overloading these testimonies.
4 Here we have an example in Sadhvi Vicakşaņa to whom during her lifetime an image was erected in a temple in Dilli. This, of course, does not detract at all from the devotion accorded to the tirtharkaras, but they have already attained nirvana, while the sādhvis are living and are still engaged in the struggle. 5 The sādhvis accept no gift for themselves personally, apart from what is strictly necessary and in accordance with the rules concerning eșaņā.
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