Page Text
________________
( 69 )
do the Nirgranthas remain naked? Why do the Jains worship naked images?
Jain monks are naked because Jainism says
Why the Jain monks
Jains worship naked images.
are naked and why the that as long as one entertains the same idea of nakedness as we do, he cannot obtain salvation. One cannot, according to Jain principles, obtain Moksha, as long as he remembers that he is naked. He can only cross over the ocean of the world after he has forgotten that he is naked. It is this our thought of nakedness that is depriving us of heaven and Moksha. It is only when we have banished this thought from our mind that we can obtain Nirvana.
Jainism attaches a great weight to thought and knowledge. The salvation of Jainism depends upon knowledge and thought. A certain man saw his mother washing Dal of Masha or Urad. He thought his soul was also covered with karmans as the Dal of Masha was covered with its husk. He absorbed himself in meditation to remove this husk. He repeated Masha Tusha! Masha Tusha! i. e., that his soul was like Dal of Masha and his karmans were like husk of Masha. He became a Kevaline and obtained Moksha. Thus it would be seen that in Jainism thought is the chief thing. Thought is the source of our salvation. Thought is the cause of our damnation. As long as a man thinks and knows that he is naked, that there is something like good and evil, he cannot obtain Moksha He must forget it to obtain Nirvana. This is very well illustrated by the well-known story of the expul
| SR No. | 011027 |
| Book Title | Lecture On Jainism |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Lala Banarasidas |
| Publisher | Anuvrat Samiti |
| Publication Year | 1902 |
| Total Pages | 391 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 14 MB |