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Jain Meditation
shop will be closed. Then he is not being loyal to his own Christianity. Or he is not loyal to his Judaism; or he is not loyal to his Hinduism. And if I were such a religious person, they would say that I am not loyal to Jainism.
But I say, I am not here to propagate religion. I am here to give ideas which are healthy and wholesome for humankind. So, unite in the name of love. And let love unite us. We are the creatures of love, we are born from love. And if you want to make a very materialistic statement, when our parents were making love, then we were born. So if we have the spiritual love, divine love, unconditional love, we will unite.
And I am hopeful that the day will come when people will unite in the name of ahimsa, reverence for life; caring for the earth; caring for our environment; caring for life; and caring for the suffering of animals. If we go that level, we will unite. But if we are on the ideological level, it is difficult. I am not against anything. But it is very difficult that way.
L.M.: There is a blind attachment to these religious traditions.
S.C.: Yes, it is a big attachment; it is like your skin. It is not changing your shirt, it is taking off your skin. A condition is like your skin.
L.M.: You don't teach a Jainism that is sectarian or dogmatic. Now what if one thinks: This is it, I'm ready and convinced that I want to follow the Jain teachings—what do I have to believe as a Jain?
S.C.: You have to believe in mainly three things. One is, that Mahavira is the purest example. You are meditating, and you say: that evolved state is my state of consciousness. Forget about the name, the name Mahavira is an example, a model. The second thing is that I am soul, I can evolve and reach that state. Believe in your complete evolution. And nobody is going to help me. I have to help myself, I have to evolve. And then, whatever I do, it has a consequence. There is no sin, no punishment. If I eat good food, I will be healthy. If I eat junk food, I will be sick. So if you lead a peaceful life, you will have peace. If you have a crazy life, then you will be crazy.
Again, the three essential things are: right knowledge; right vision; and right character. Right vision means that you want to be completely peaceful, as Mahavira has preached. That is right vision. Right knowledge means that you are soul. You are evolving, and you are having a relation with the
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