You have seen in Part-I how we put twos and twos together and anaylised the information available with us on the basis of our reason, so as to understand the true teachings of Upanishads and Quran. We have also seen that Buddha’s teachings too are revealing the same path and it appears that Moses and Jesus too were the representatives of the same Manifest Self of God who is desirous that we all bend down in the worship of the Absolute God – the Creator of Manifest Self. You have seen how our attempt to understand all this on the basis of logic and existing translations by various renowned scholars brought forth dazzling truths regarding our place in this cosmos and expectations of the Creator from us.
Not only this, it is obvious that there was one and only one Straight Path right from the time of Adam, and deviations from that Path or inability to understand the true concepts gave birth to religions or sects. Now is the time to shed all these and return to the Straight Path of God. This is essential not only for our own benefit but also for the benefit of all humanity and rest of the creations of God.
Since everybody wanted to see his own religion as the right one and wanted to deny the same truths presented differently in other religions, there was no way in which the truth could be reached. At a time when man has more or less become fed with religion, when fundamentalism and violence in the name of religion has made us suspicious of the teachings and when the world is nearing its cycle of life courtesy man’s own doings, the Divine Powers want the truth to come out so that at least some of us could find the way to salvation (moksha or nirvana or nijaat).
Truths could not be reached because we were bent on seeing the dissimilarities rather than similarities between religions. We saw noor and light and divya – all words meaning one and the same – differently. We saw Kalki avatar of the Hindus, Mahdi of the Muslims, second coming of the Christians and similar concepts available among Jews differently. In our desire to present other religions as fake and our own as the true one, we didn’t try to see into the true teachings neither of other religions nor of our own. The section of Muslims who believe that noor of Mohammad was present in Adam, Abraham and other Prophets didn’t see it the other way round – that it was one noor that was present in Adam, remained on earth in various bodies till it reached or entered the body of Mohammad. Buddhist, Hindu and Christian literature, all talked of continuation of guidance even posterior to them but we ceased to explore and ended up in a mess of jumbled truths called religion.
As regards to Muslims, they didn’t take the traditions of Mohammad seriously when he said:
I was a prophet when Adam was yet amidst water and clay.
And on another occasion he said:
Ali and myself are the two halves of the same noor (light).
Or said:
Ali is a part of me and I am a part of Ali.
And also said:
The root of Ali and me is the same, but all other people come from various other origins.
(Zaynul Fata; Ibna Maghazali; Shafa-i; Kanzul Ummal, Ahmad ibna Hanbal).
And it was the same truth that was being revealed when the Holy Prophet said:
Allah selected Adam in preference to all other creatures; from among the descendants of Adam, He selected Nuh; from among the descendants of Nuh, He selected Ibrahim; from among the descendants of Ibrahim, He selected Ismael; from among the Quraish, He selected Hashim. All of them carried my noor (the first light which came forth from the absolute and goes on till the day of resurrection to manifest ultimately in the arc of ascent). It passed through Abd al Muttalib to Abdullah and Abu Talib. I am from Abdullah and Ali is from Abu Talib. Ali and I are one and the same noor.
Even Quran’s injunctions were not taken seriously and various people tried to attempt the stark truths as per their own view. Consequently, the same Muslims who value the book of Quran to such an extent that they rise up to protest all over the world when Quran is desecrated, did not value Quran’s true and simple teachings in front of their own view. Likewise, all those who protest when Prophet Mohammad is shown through cartoons made mimicry of the Prophet’s teachings through their acts and beliefs. And the Straight Path that should have been manifestly present got buried under heaps of rubble thrown by mischief-mongers. See these verses:
Then those who believe in him (Mohammad) honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: They are the successful. (Quran, 7:157)
And said:
Now hath come unto you light (noor) from God and a plain scripture. (Quran, 5:15)
And said:
Is he whose bosom God hath expanded for the surrender (unto Him), so that he followeth a light from His Lord (as he who disbelieveth)? Then woe unto those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of God. Such are in plain error. (Quran, 39:22)
Also the following verse may be talking about the darkness that prevailed when Allah created the noor of the 14 devatas or Masooms, prior to the rest of creation.
Allah is the guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light; and (as to) those who disbelieve, their guardians are Shaytans whotake them out of the light into the darkness; they are the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide. (Quran, 2:257)
On another occasion, Imam Jafar Sadiq – the sixth Imam – talks of the Spirit by which Allah directs the steps of the Imams. Abu Basir (Hadees no. 717) asked Imam Jafar Sadiq about the words of Allah, the Blessed, the Sublime:
Even so We have revealed to thee a Spirit of Our bidding. Thou knewest not what the Book was, nor faith. (Quran, Ash-Shura, 42:52)
He said:
(It is) one of the created things of Allah to whom belong Mighty and Majesty; (it is) greater than Gabriel and Mikail. It was with the Messenger of Allah; it informed him and directed his steps, and it is with the Imams after him.
More about this Spirit is mentioned in Hadees no. 718. ‘A man from Hit (a town in
Even so We have revealed to thee a Spirit of Our bidding.
He (the Imam) said: ‘Since Allah, to Whom belong Might and Majesty, sent this Spirit down on Mohammad, it has not ascended to Heaven; and it is in us.
In 719, Abu Basir says that he asked Jafar Sadiq about the words of Allah, to Whom belong Might and Majesty: They will question thee concerning the Spirit. Say: ‘The Spirit is of the bidding of my Lord’ (al-Isra’, 17:85). He said: ‘(It is) a created thing greater than Gabriel and Mikail; it was with the Messenger of Allah, it is with the Imams, and it is from the Kingdom (al-Malakut).’
Another misconception that is present among the Muslims who regard Gabriel as the spirit is discounted in Hadees no. 722: A man came to Amir al-muminin (Ali) and asked him about the Spirit: ‘Is it not Gabriel?’ Amir al-muminin said to him: ‘Jibril (Gabriel) is one of the angels, and the Spirit is not Jibril.’ – and he repeated this to the man – then he (the man) said to him: ‘You have said something very important; no one claims that the Spirit is not Jibril. Amir al-muminin said to him: ‘You are wrongly guided, and you recount from the people of misguidance. Allah Most High has said to His Prophet: Allah’s command comes; see not to hasten it. Glory be to Him! High be the exalted above that they associate with Him! He sends down the angels with the Spirit (Q. an-Nahl, 16:1-2), and the Spirit is not the angels, may the blessings of Allah be upon them.’
The description comes exactly close to the descriptions of the Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas. Christians too who believe in the concept of Virgin Mary should understand what a spirit is, particularly because Mary was not married.
The following quotes from the Holy Prophet further sheds light on the subject discussed in the Upanishads. Verse 3:34 from Quran too cannot be explained until you accept what has been said in the Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures as true.
Offspring one of the other; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.
Scholars till now have wrongly understood this verse now. Our view is that since the Masooms kept taking birth again and again in this world, either for the purpose of maintaining the continuity as noor passed from one to another or for the more greater purpose of keeping the torch of worship and knowledge burning, or merely for the purpose of maintaining continuance of their presence on earth, as it is essential for the very survival of this earth, it was said that ‘offspring one of the other’.
Other Quranic injunctions too were taken in their superficial context. For instance, see the following verse from Quran.
We have revealed unto thee (Mohammad) that thereby thou mayst bring forth mankind from darkness unto light.
Majority of Muslims believe that Mohammad was bestowed with Prophethood when he was 40 years of age and consequent to that this verse was revealed which talked of Mohammad leading mankind from darkness unto light. These Muslims are of the opinion that this role of Mohammad commenced when he was given that position at a certain time in his life. This is in spite of the fact that at no point it is said that this honour was bestowed on Mohammad at a certain place and time. Muslims should explain that if Prophet was given the honour after completing 40 years of age, why was it that the miracle happened on his birth and 14 ‘mehrabs’ in the palace of a Christian king collapsed? Why is it that the fire in a temple that was kept burning at all times got extinguished? Why is it that even Christian monks are reported to have seen a cloud hovering on Prophet Mohammad at all times? And why is it that the Prophet Mohammad was the first one to enter into the Kaaba when the Arabs were fighting as to who would put the sacred stone in the wall of the Kaaba. Why is it that the Arabs who were fighting a day before on the issue couldn’t reach the premises earlier than the Prophets? All the miracles assigned to the Prophet prior to his attaining 40 years of age become meaningless if we discount that he was the designated Prophet right from the time of his birth. The same happened in the case of subsequent Masooms and history is witness that they performed miracles when they were children and the Imams, even in their tender ages, debated the secrets of highest knowledge with the best of scholars of the period.
You may ask why all these truths are coming to light now. This is so because it is the promise of God in Quran that truth will prevail prior the end of life on this earth. Mohammad has clearly said so in his sayings related to Mahdi – the Awaited. Had Mahdi arrived without these truths being known, some of the Muslims may have accepted him as their Leader. But Mahdi is not the divinely chosen leader of a section of Muslims alone, but of entire humanity. Hence the entire humanity should know the truth so that it either accepts him for its own benefit or rejects him, for its own loss.
By the time he will come, conditions would change and entire humanity would realize that these devatas or Masooms are the true representatives of God, the bearer of the noor that was created prior to all creation, last portion of the spirit that is the Divine Spirit or Paramatma.
Buddha knew the truth
The importance of the true content of the Vedas and Upanishads can be understood from the fact that even Mahatma Buddha, who is erroneously considered to be an atheist or opposed to the Vedas, has stated in Sutta Nipata, 292:
He who attains true knowledge of Dharma or righteousness through the Vedas, attains a steady position. He does not waver.
This shows that the content of the Vedas was as much regarded by Buddha as by
It is true that Buddha ridiculed those who called themselves followers of Vedas. B.R. Ambedkar has construed that Buddha “denied that the Vedas were sacred. He denied that whatever the Vedas said was final. He denied that the Vedas were infallible.”
This too is based on misunderstanding. The entire Vedas talk of the devatas and nothing else. Brahma, Prajapati, Indradeva, Agnideva, Varunadeva, Vasudeva, Devi Saraswati, etc. are the subjects of discussion. During our little study so far, we have already encountered several instances where devatas, Brahma, etc. are being mentioned by Buddha himself. In fact it is Brahma who told Buddha to start preaching to others when Buddha was in doubt.
Yes, it is true that in Tvijja Sutta the Buddha has declared the Vedas as a waterless desert, pathless jungle, in fact perdition (as per present translation). In that regard, Buddha and Krishna are on the same path as
See Buddha’s words:
"Come, O you Kalamas, do not go merely by what you hear; do not go merely by what has been handed down from one to another; do not go by what is commonly reported; do not go merely by what is found in the scriptures; do not go by the subtleties of reasoning, do not go by subtleties of logic; do not merely by considerations based upon mere appearances; do not go merely by what looks to be genuine; do not go merely by word of some ascetic or superior.”
“What then should we do? What test should we apply?” asked the Kalamas.
“The tests are these,” replied the Blessed One; “ask yourselves, do we know whether: ‘these things are insalutary; these things are blameworthy; these things are reprehended by the wise; these things being done or attempted lead to ill-being and to suffering.’
“Kalamas, you should go further and ask whether the doctrine taught promotes craving, hatred, delusion, and violence.
“This is not enough, Kalamas, you should go further and see whether the doctrine is not likely to make a man captive of his passions, and is not likely to lead him to kill living creature; take what has not been given to him; go after another’s wife; utter falsehood, and cause others to practice like deeds?
“And finally you should ask: ‘whether all this does not tend to his ill-being and suffering.’”
Truly, the understanding of Vedas based on wrong translations led to all these evils. Those hell-bent on proving a religion called Buddhism out of Buddha’s teachings surely got enough points to put forth their claim. But why didn’t they do so when
II[46]
There would be as much use for all the Vedas to a Brahmin of wisdom as there could be for a pool of water when a full flood prevails all over.
Writes the author of Religious Consciousness: “The fact that what was dwelt upon in Vedas is not repeated in Gita. Instead the misconcepts which came to prevail because of misunderstanding or passage of time have been corrected.”
This author is right in his view even though it is not sure whether he has understood the true content of Vedas or not. The entire mass of literature that we call Vedas merely point out that the devatas enjoy the highest of place after God and we should follow their footsteps to reach God. All the incidents of future that we find described in the Vedas merely identify those personalities when they would come to live on this earth. A Brahmin of wisdom is sure to be aware that all beings, including the self inside us, have a direct link with these devatas. He knows that all cycle of life and death is under the control of these devatas. Once the person gets to identify these devatas and their divinely designated role of leading us to the right path, all the Vedic hymns become inconsequential to him.
Sri Aurobindo has come close to accepting this fact and, in his writings, often speaks of the supra-mental power which can descend to manifest itself in actual terms, and there is also the ascent of human beings to the highest status which is also possible and can transform men into superior or divine personalities. He writes:
“It (the avatar) is the manifestations from above of that which we have to develop from below; it is the descent of God into that divine birth of the human being into which we mortal creatures must climb; it is the attracting divine example given by God to man in the very type and form and perfected model of our human existence.” (Sri Aurobido, Essays on Gita, I series,
I have not read much of Sri Aurobindo’s writings, but it appears from this view that he is very close to truth. Unfortunately, various scholars, knowingly or unknowingly, interpreted Vedas to contain ritualistic sacrifices. This was so because they found the Vedic hymns to be associated with ritual sacrifices. Commentators did not realize that the learned sages had associated the Vedic hymns with rituals because they wanted the true text of Vedic literature to remain unaltered. Initially, the people were waiting for the devatas to take birth on earth, but gradually this wait became endless and deviations crept, which eventually reached a stage that it was forgotten that the devatas would take birth in future. People started worshipping the devatas and forgot all their relationships with the self inside us so much so that each of us has the capacity to become one with the devatas and hence attain union with God.
Instead of understanding this fact, the commentators tried to interpret the hymns according to the rituals. When
“Of what avail are the Vedas to him who has known his Atma thus? For a Yogin content with the nectar of wisdom, there is nothing more to be done.”
The Upanishad further says:
“The myriads of karmas committed in this beginningless cycle of rebirths are annihilated only through the modifications pertaining to Atma. Through proficiency in practice, the current of nectar always rains down in diverse ways. Therefore those who know Yoga call this samadhi, dharma-megha (cloud). Through these (modifications of Atma), the collection of affinities is absorbed without any remainder whatever. When the accumulated good and bad karmas are wholly destroyed, these sentences (Tattvamasi – That are Thou, and Ahambrahmasmi – I am Brahman), like the myrobalan in the palm of the hand, bring him face to face with the ultimate Reality, though It was before invisible. Then he becomes a Jivanmukta [nijat in Arabic].”
It is clear that the devatas’ role, both as Paramatma and as Divine Beings, is to act as intermediaries to reach the God. Once this fact is identified, the Vedas are of no more use. Unfortunately, the inability to understand the true content of Vedas never allowed scholars to reach a true conclusion as regard to the teachings of Gita as well.
Another instance where Buddha makes this very clear that his objection to Brahminism was because of their distorted ways can be seen in his conversation with Vasettha. If you look at the wordings carefully, you will agree that Buddha is endorsing the presence of Indra, Brahma, Isana and Prajapati and is against the way people beckon them and try to reach them. A sanction to the Vedas also exists in these lines.
“If this river Achiravati were full of water even to the brim and overflowing, and a man with business to be done on the further bank of it should come up, and want to cross river:
“And standing on that bank, he should invoke the further bank and say: ‘Come hither, O further bank! Come over to this side!’
“Now what think you, Vasettha? Would the further bank of the river Achiravati, by that man’s invoking and praying, and hoping, and praising, come over to this side?
“In just the same way, Vasettha, do the Brahmins, versed in the three Vedas, omitting the practice of those qualities which really make a man a Brahmin and adopting the practice of those qualities which really make men non-Brahmins say thus:
“’Indra we call upon, Brahma we call upon, Isana we call upon, Prajapati we call upon, Brahma, we call upon, we call, we call.’
“Verily, Vasettha, that these Brahmins, by reason of their invoking and praying and hoping and praising, should after death become united with Brahma – verily such a condition of things can in nowise be.”
Has Buddha denied the presence of Brahma, Indra, Isana or Prajapati anywhere? No! In fact, this is very much an acknowledgement of their presence. What Buddha is criticizing is the practice that was common as per which Brahmins performed all kinds of ritual sacrifices to invoke or call these, knowing not that they do not come in this manner but one has to endeavour and try to reach them through dedication and righteous living. This can be achieved by swimming against the tides of the call of organs of senses and action and by pursuing a righteous life. That Buddha too was of the view that it was practice of certain qualities, which made a man a Brahmin, and not by invoking, praying, hoping and praising.
Moreover, this shows that Indra, Brahma, Isana, Prajapati were being called, invoked and praised at least by the Brahmins if not others till the time of Buddha. This calling has been linked with a union with them after death. If the practice was in vogue till the time of Buddha, when and why was it discontinued? No Rama or
There is one more thing that we need to discuss! The extent to which evil had entered the lives of the Parivrajakas in spite of the fact that they were revered by the society can be understood by these words from B.R. Ambedkar‘s book:
“At that time there used to live in Shravasti a Brahmani Parivrajaka, known as Chincha. In bodily formation and physical charms she was a seductive beauty. She used to radiate grace with her bodily movements.”
The fact that Brahmani Parivrajaka has been described not by her piety or spirituality but by her bodily formation and physical charms and that the Jain Tirthikas used her to sabotage the teachings of Buddha by trying to malign his reputation reveal the extent of degradation that had occurred among the followers of Mahavira. Several instances can be found which show that these Jain Tirthikas too had got discredited among people.
Buddha’s answer to Brahmin Udayin confirms that the sacrifices given while treading the true path, as were given by the devatas when they would come on earth, were the true sacrifices and not the ritual sacrifices performed by the priests of yore, as was common in those days. The following translation shows that the same subject is being talked about in spite of the fact that this has been translated by a misguided translator, who himself never understood the true meaning of sacrifice nor knew anything about the identity of the devatas. See what Buddha has said, as per existing translations:
“Fit sacrifice performed in season due
And free from cruelty, to such draw near
Those well-trained in the God-life, even those
who have the veil rolled back while (yet on earth),
who have transcended time and going. Such do
the enlightened praise, those skilled in merit.
“Whether in sacrifice or act of faith,
Oblation fitly made with heart devout
To that good field of Merit, - those who live
The Good – life, sacrificed, conferred, - so given
Lavish the offering; devatas there with are pleased.
Thus offering, the thoughtful, thereby becoming wise,
Wins the blissful world from suffering fire.”
Read again. The ‘veil rolled back’ refers to the devatas, who were in veil as they were not visible during Buddha’s period, who were ‘well-trained in the God-life’ and ‘who have transcended time’. These devatas gave oblations, either through sacrifice of life or happiness (read the lives of Masooms and you will find that they were killed or kept in prison for most part of their lives) or even sacrifices in acts of faith like giving away of the only bread in possession to a beggar while getting ready to break fast, and doing it for three days in succession. If any body comes and say that all this is wishful thinking on part of us, then we wish to point out that the aforementioned translation also refers to the devatas, thereby confirming that Buddha was talking of devatas and none else. It is pity that the followers of Buddha did not try to explore who these devatas were, even when there existed clear texts talking of devatas being pleased of our offerings ‘in sacrifice or act of faith’ or of ‘oblation fitly made with heart devout’. Is it not the fact that this sentence includes all, not even excluding Buddha – Siddhartha Gautama?
Winning of the blissful world from suffering fire is a clear reference to heaven and hell. We fail to understand why the immediate followers of Buddha were hell-bent on proving that there was no heaven and hell in Buddha’s teachings. Moreover, we have shown earlier that Buddha has referred to Brahma’s heaven, which further proves that the devatas, even as per the Buddha, are those to whom all our acts go. They are the ones who would bestow heaven or hell, they are the ones who are masters of our organs of senses and actions, as has been said in the Upanishads.
Does it not endorse the fact that Buddha was preaching the same path and in fact continuing the teachings of Krishna earlier and Rama even before
Fact is that the existing beliefs about soul, about God and about sacrifices were so deviated that Buddha had to criticize them vehemently. People unaware of the true teachings of the Vedas and Gita saw the existing practices as Hindu practices and when Buddha criticized them, it was interpreted as though he was criticizing the teachings of Vedas and
If you read Buddha’s words again, you will even find reference to ‘God’, something that is refuted by at least one
Ved Shastri Lala Hargovind in his book Bodha Chamatkar, Omkar Pustkalaya, Kanpur, 1927, published from Saraswati Press, Bombay and Ram Narayan Banarsi’s Risala Bodha Gyan states that when Buddha was on his deathbed and his favourite pupil Ananda was crying by his side, Buddha said:
“Dear Ananda, don’t cry. Don’t lament. I have already told you that it is human nature to leave things dear to him. Anand! Remember that I am not the only Buddha who has come to this world and neither will I be the last of this chain. When the time will come, another Buddha will arrive, who will be the light of the God. He will be pure and reverential and will be given knowledge. He will be famous. One who knows the secrets of the universe. One who will guide the mankind. Teacher of the Jinns and Humans. He will also guide you to the Everlasting Truth, that I have shown to you. If my followers are in hundreds, his followers will be in thousands."
Is this not reference to Mohammad? Quran has time and again said that Mohammad is the preacher for the entire humanity and has asked the Jinns and Humans to tread the path shown by him. You have seen how Ali even fought the Jinns. You have also seen a little earlier how Quran talks of sending the light of the God on earth, how Quran has confirmed them to be perfectly pure and truthful and how the Masooms were the epitome of all knowledge. Ali is said to have described the distance of sun from earth, Ali talked of creating light from falling water, Imams told some secrets of the universe that are still being discovered by modern day scientists. And they were surely guides to the Everlasting Truth, very much like the earlier Messengers who all were talking on some or other aspects of this True Path.
Now read a little more of Buddha’s prophesy:
He will be known as one who will put an end to the chain of rishis and prophets. On his head, there will be a five-faced crown. That will shine like the sun and the moon. The bigger gem of his is called Ailya. Remember, all these pure beings have taken birth at the beginning, but there is still some time for them to appear. Cruel people will great harm his gems. They will leave no stone unturned to vanquish them. But God will uphold their names, their work and their descendents till the end of the world. Ananda, crores of people like you and me will get tired in his wait. But one who will assist him or his pure companions will be the lucky one. I cannot tell you anything more.
Mohammad is clearly the Last of the Messengers from God. Thus, he is the one who put an end to the chain of rishis and prophets. The five-faced crown are the Panjetans (the five bodies). We have already seen in Part-I that Ali has also been remembered by the name Ailya by other Prophets as well. And Quran has confirmed that they are perfectly pure; the same is being said by Buddha. Very interesting thing that Buddha says is that they have taken birth at the beginning of the cosmos but there is still some time for them to appear. Is it not confirmation of what we are trying to prove? It has also been foretold that cruel people will harm ‘gems’ of Mohammad. History is witness that the Masooms spent greater part of their lives in prison or house arrests. All of them including
Not only this Buddha was apt in this prophecy when he said that cruel people will leave no stone unturned to vanquish them. For 90 years after Ali’s martyrdom, 70,000 pulpits all across the Muslim world were used to abuse him, but as Buddha said, ‘God will uphold their names, their work and their descendants till the end of the world’. Last of the descendant is still alive, as we have said, and will shortly appear. And one who will assist him will be the lucky one.
The fact that Buddha ended with saying ‘I cannot tell you anything more’ shows that he knew more but was selective in foretelling the events of their lives. Buddha was even assisted by Ali on course to his pursuit for enlightenment. We give here Buddha’s dream, which we translated from a pamphlet in Urdu.
Once Gautama (prior to his enlightenment) was asleep in his room when he got up with a shriek. He was crying and tears were rolling down his eyes. Upon hearing his shriek, his minister, who was sleeping nearby, got up from sleep. He asked the prince whether he has seen some dreadful dream. The Prince said that it was a dream itself but something other than a dream. The minister cajoled the prince to recount what he had seen and he said:
Minister, you know that I read religious scriptures with great care. And I try to find the puzzles surrounding religions. You also know that I endeavour a lot in worship of Ishwar and go into the forests to see his wonders. Don’t ask what happened today.
Some Paramatma blessed me today and said that my tapasya has succeeded. He said: Go and recount my name and you will get what you desire. My name is Ailya. If you need to meet me, my house is close and is at the Putra sthan, close to the torned wall. You will find me as a child there. But that time is still far away.
There is no doubt that Buddha was talking of Ali. House close to ‘the torned wall’ is surely reference to Kaaba. Ali was born inside the Kaaba. It is said that when Ali’s mother, also named
These are just a few incidents and prophecies that we could lay our hands on. You have already seen how
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