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tion, glorification etc.) he swept the ground with the edge of his uttariya (the upper-cloth). He sat down there; and concentrated on the holy and gracious face of the Paramatma. He recited the sutra (hymn) with clear pronunciation. He recited the sutra understanding its meaning; he became completely absorbed in the glorification of the Paramatma and in praying for him. He prayed for the fulfilment of his objectives upto praying for salvation by means of the recitation of the prayer-hymn (Prarthana Sutra). Then experiencing great exultation and exhilaration, he returned home. This was the manner in which he performed the austerity of visiting the temple every day. It is to be believed that on account of this kind of performance of spiritual austerities, he was never dismayed by sorrows and he never felt helpless or unhappy. Sorrows and agonies appear in everyone's life; but if man is heroic, and courageous, sorrows cannot humble him; and he does not weep helplessly over his agonies. He, in whose soul the faith in the Paramatma spreads, need not fear anything. He becomes fearless; and renders others also fearless. Mahamantri Pethad Shah was courageous and heroic in this manner. He always respected men of virtues and merit and was always enthusiastic and was conscientious in carrying out his duties. He never delayed the performance of any spiritual activity; he was never negligent; and he never felt tired of performing such activities. You should not forget that this was the result of the performance of the worship of the Paramatma in accordance with prescriptions and rules. Apart from this, for him, Shastrik prescriptions had become natural because he followed them always. He never even thought consciously that he should adhere to those prescriptions. He used to have a darshan of the Paramatma himself through the medium of the image of the Paramatma. Otherwise, how could he become so deeply absorbed in a contemplation of a stone-image?
While worshipping the Paramatma with flowers, he used .to become so deeply absorbed that he would become completely forgetful of his surroundings. If anyone came and stood near him or sat near him, he did not notice him, lost in a deep contemplation of the Paramatma. Jayasimha was the King of
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