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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailashsagarsuri Gyanmandir
Atman and Moksa release (mukti). The pondering of paddy does not give the real taste of it, similarly merely scholastic study of the scriptures does not give us the real knowledge of the Lord. The knowledge of all sciences and the scriptures is not sufficient to effect liberation unless the ego (ahamkā ra) is destroyed.' At the same time he very sharply criticises those who adhere to the external forms and rites and rituals of religion without the proper understanding of the Self and the Brahman. He says, “What is the use of taking sacred bath and carrying on worship, of besmearing the body with ashes and growing hair on the head, of visiting the shrines and wearing the necklace of the Tulsi-leaves, of drinking the sacred waters of the Ganges, of learning grammar and knowing the six systems, all these being the means of earning livelihood in the worldly life (prapanca), if one has not realised his innermost Self ?"2 At the same time he condemns the simple muttering of the name of the God mechanically without knowing the real nature of Him. He holds that bhakti without knowledge of the Lord is as futile as is a cradle in a house without a child; one's hunger cannot be satisfied by simply speaking about it; without the knowedge of Hari how can one become of Hari ? Thus, it becomes clear that Narasimha has not overvalued either bhakti or knowledge at the cost of either; both have value for
I Desai I. C. (Editor) : Brhat Kävya Dohana, Song 3, pp. 29-30.
2 Ibid. Song 6, pp. 30-31.
3. Dasai I. C. (Editor): Narasimha Mehtakrta Kāvyasaṁgraha, Song 38, p. 484.
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