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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailashsagarsuri Gyanmandir
666
Atman and Moksa
(subha-Yh), and Universal Love (priti-stifa).' He is extremely loving and full of compassion, and He assumes incarnation to bestow the peace of deliverance to serve as the bridge for erring mortals over the ocean of existence. Rāma, the Supreme God, is the omnipresent centre of the universe and, therefore, He acts on the physical side as the abiding source of all power. On the ethical side, He is the shield of righteousness, the remover of impurities, the tamer of pride, lust, lying, and selfishness and thus, ensures salvation for the saints. On the spiritual side, He is the unbodied ruler of the soul that dwells for ever in the hearts of all. Tulasidāsa does not ignore the other gods like Brahmä, Visnu (Hari) and Siva (Hara). He recognises them and respects them equally, but makes them completely subordinate to Rama. They are produced from the latter and act at the command of Rāma and thus, they administer the great drama of life. The blessed Janaki or Sitā acts as the mother of the world and Rama as the father; both are beneficent and their grace destroys sin.
Tulasidasa interprets Māyā as the power that hides Brahman from the soul. He uses it in two senses - (i) merely 'magic' and is the evil force used by demons in their combat with Rāma's armies; (iz) in the other it represents a combination of the Gnostic demi-urge and the Christian 'Temper', it is
1 Tulasidās : Rāma Carità Manasa, VII 77. 70. 2. Ibid. II. 85.
3 Ibid. VII. 77.
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