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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailashsagarsuri Gyanmandir
Atman and Mokşa clouds.' He stresses the need for acquiring knowledge and for control over passions by means of purifying the mind and thus removing the darkness of ignorance (tama). Sūradāsa, being essentially a believer in the Bhaktimārga (the path of devotion), holds that it is sufficient to develop a passion and an ardent devotion for Hari (Haripada anurāga), and then it is not at all necessary to observe the external signs of religious life. It is immaterial where one is and what one does. One has simply to contemplate Hari and to do every action as not of himself but as that of Hari by forgetting his narrow egohood, since Hari dwells everywhere. If one can attain freedom from passions and develop datachment in duties by completely surrendering oneself and one's actions to the Lord, one will get the credit of practising the Yogic practices also. What is important is complete faith in and loving devotion for the Lord.Sūradása also emphasizes knowing one's own Self, the inward light by means of which even the blind can see everything. The Self (Ātmā) resides within us but forgetting it, we seek for it outside us just as musk-deer runs in a forest in search of the musk which dwells in its own naval." What is, therefore, necessary is to search for our Self within us to abandon pride and to turn away from the worldly objects of enjoyment and to concentrate the mind on Hari.5
i Sūradāsa : Sarasāgara. Vol. 1 (Hindi), Skandha II, Verse 9, p. 117.
2 Ibid. Verse 19, p. 120. 3 Ibid. Verses 20-21, pp. 120-121. 4 Ibid. Verses 25-26, pp. 122–123. 5 Ibid. Verses 23-24. pp. 121-122.
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