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Not seldom their appreciation comes from head-learning rather than life-experience. It is fragmentary, static. They have not always been helped to grasp and discover their dharma in depth.
The Unknown Pilgrims
- Does not a certain passive acceptance of the traditional teaching play a part, in the long run, in deflecting the sädhvis from the original ideal?
This type of passivity does indeed give rise to ignorance and constitutes an obstacle to spiritual progress. In this regard, it is essential that the gurunis should prove themselves equal to their task.
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Does their manner of life, as it is lived out by the majority, help the sādhvis to realise their ideal?
This life, in which the sole activity is spiritual activity, is one which is very difficult to realise to the full. It demands a most unusual degree of zeal, a wide-open and active intelligence and an innate feeling for spiritual things; is necessary also to receive 'sound guidance at the start of the way. Now this, as things are at present, is only possible for a minority. For the others, the life is often fairly monotonous. In certain cases the common life lacks harmony just because its goal has disappeared from sight, and sometimes there is frequent quarrelling. The gurunis' task is to attend to the training of their disciples and the preservation of good mutual understanding. It should be clearly understood that the sadhvis do not all have the same spiritual awareness nor the same intellectual capacities, and that all are not competent to pursue courses of study, to write or give spiritual teaching to others. Here we may mention again the example of the Terapanthi sadhvis, who make good use of their time in the creation of works of art and in handcrafts. Although statistics, particularly in this domain, give only an approximate idea of the reality of the situation, yet they are revealing. A few years ago, to the question: "Are you satisfied with the style of life you live today?" 60 out of 100 sädhvis replied that they desired changes to be made in successive stages, while 13 desired radical changes of adaptation to our day and age. Thus 73 testified to a need for far-reaching renewal. Similarly, in
1 Cf. Bordiya, 1975, p. 275.
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