Reading sample

As Expounded by Dada Bhagwan

Non-Violence

Originally Compiled in Gujarati by: Dr. Niruben Amin

Trimantra

The Three Mantras That Destroy All Obstacles in Life

Namo Vitaraagaya

I bow to the Ones who are absolutely free from all attachment and abhorrence

Namo Arihantanam

I bow to the living Ones who have annihilated all internal enemies of anger, pride, deceit and greed

Namo Siddhanam

I bow to the Ones who have attained the state of total and final liberation

Namo Aayariyanam

I bow to the Self-realized masters who impart the Knowledge of the Self to others

Namo Uvazzayanam

I bow to the Ones who have received the Knowledge of the Self and are helping others attain the same

Namo Loye Savva Sahunam

I bow to the Ones, wherever they may be, who have received the Knowledge of the Self

Eso Pancha Namukkaro

These five salutations

Savva Pavappanasano

Destroy all demerit karma

Mangalanam cha Savvesim

Of all that is auspicious

Padhamam Havai Mangalam ||1||

This is the highest

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya ||2||

I bow to the Ones who have attained the absolute Self in human form

Om Namah Shivaya ||3||

I bow to all human beings who have become instruments for the salvation of the world

Jai Sat Chit Anand

Awareness of the Eternal is Bliss

Who Is Dada Bhagwan?

In June 1958, around 6 o’clock one evening, amidst the hustle and bustle of the Surat railway station while seated on a bench, ‘Dada Bhagwan’ manifested completely within the sacred bodily form of Ambalal Muljibhai Patel. Nature revealed a remarkable phenomenon of spirituality! In the span of an hour, the vision of the universe was unveiled to him! Complete clarity for all spiritual questions such as, ‘Who are we? Who is God? Who runs the world? What is karma? What is liberation?’ etc. was attained.

What He attained that evening, He imparted to others through his original Scientific experiment (Gnan Vidhi) in just two hours! This has been referred to as the Akram path. Kram means to climb up sequentially, step-by-stepwhile Akram means step-less, a shortcut, the elevator path!

He, himself, would explain to others who Dada Bhagwan is by saying, “The one visible before you is not Dada Bhagwan. I am the Gnani Purush and the One who has manifested within is Dada Bhagwan who is the Lord of the fourteen worlds. He is also within you, and within everyone else too. He resides unmanifest within you, whereas here [within A. M. Patel], He has manifested completely! I, myself, am not God (Bhagwan); I also bow down to the Dada Bhagwan who has manifest within me.”

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The Current Link to Attain Self-Realization

After attaining the Knowledge of the Self in 1958, absolutely revered Dada Bhagwan (Dadashri) traveled nationally and internationally to impart spiritual discourse and Self-realization to spiritual seekers.

During his lifetime itself, Dadashri had given the spiritual power to Pujya Dr. Niruben Amin (Niruma) to bestow Self-realization to others. In the same way, after Dadashri left his mortal body, Pujya Niruma conducted spiritual discourses (satsang) and imparted Self-realization to spiritual seekers, as an instrumental doer. Dadashri had also given Pujya Deepakbhai Desai the spiritual power to conduct satsang. At present, with the blessings of Pujya Niruma, Pujya Deepakbhai travels nationally and internationally to impart Self-realization as an instrumental doer.

After Self-realization, thousands of spiritual seekers prevail in a state free from bondage and dwell in the experience of the Self, whilst carrying out all their worldly responsibilities.

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Note About This Translation

The Gnani Purush, Ambalal M. Patel, also commonly known as ‘Dadashri’ or ‘Dada’, gave spiritual discourses that were in the form of answers to questions asked by spiritual aspirants. These discourses were recorded and compiled into books by Pujya Dr. Niruben Amin in the Gujarati language.

Dadashri had said that it would be impossible to translate His satsangs and the Knowledge about the Science of Self-realization word for word into other languages, because some of the meaning would be lost in the process. Therefore, in order to understand precisely the Akram Science of Self-realization, He stressed the importance of learning Gujarati.

However, Dadashri did grant His blessings to translate His words into other languages so that spiritual seekers could benefit to a certain degree and later progress through their own efforts. This book is not a literal translation, but great care has been taken to preserve the essence of His original message.

Spiritual discourses have been and continue to be translated from Gujarati. For certain Gujarati words, several translated words or even sentences are needed to convey the meaning, hence many Gujarati words have been retained within the translated text for better understanding. Where the Gujarati word is used for the first time, it is italicized, followed by a translation explaining its meaning in parenthesis. Subsequently, only the Gujarati word is used in the text that follows. This serves a two-fold benefit; firstly, ease of translation and reading, and secondly, make the reader more familiar with the Gujarati words, which is critical for a deeper understanding of this spiritual Science. The content in square brackets provides further clarity regarding the matter, which is not present in the original Gujarati content.

This is a humble attempt to present to the world, the essence of His Knowledge. While reading this translation, if there is any contradiction or discrepancy, then it is the mistake of the translators and the understanding of the matter should be clarified with the living Gnani to avoid misinterpretation.

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Special Note to the Reader

The word violence generally conveys some form of physical aggression. However, the spiritual definition of himsa, which is roughly translated as violence, is much broader. Any speech or thought that hurts any living being is also considered violence. Similarly, ahimsa, or non-violence, is defined as the practice of not hurting any living being even to the slightest extent, through thoughts, speech, and action. Thus, rather than using the English words ‘violence’ and ‘non-violence’ in this book, the respective Gujarati words himsa and ahimsa have been used.

The Self is the Soul (Atma) within all living beings.

The term pure Soul is used by the Gnani Purush for the awakened Self, after the Gnan Vidhi. The word Self, with an uppercase ‘S’, refers to the awakened Self which is separate from the worldly-interacting self, which is written with a lowercase ‘s’.

Wherever Dadashri uses the term ‘we’, ‘us’, or ‘our’, He is referring to Himself, the Gnani Purush.

Similarly, the use of You or Your in the middle of a sentence, with an uppercase first letter, or ‘You’, ‘Your’ in single quotes at the beginning of the sentence, refers to the state of the awakened Self or Pragnya. This is an important distinction for the correct understanding of the difference between the awakened Self and the worldly-interacting self.

Wherever the name ‘Chandubhai’ is used, the reader should substitute his or her name and read the matter accordingly.

The masculine third person pronoun ‘he’ and likewise the object pronoun ‘him’ have been used for the most part throughout the translation. Needless to say, ‘he’ includes ‘she’ and ‘him’ includes ‘her’.

For reference, a glossary of all the Gujarati words is either provided at the back of this book or available on our website at:

http://www.dadabhagwan.org/books-media/glossary/

Editorial

In the ocean of himsa (violence), there is nothing but himsa; however, if a person wants to attain [the state of] ahimsa (non-violence) amidst the ocean of himsa, then it is only possible if he reads, contemplates on, and follows the speech on ahimsa spoken by the absolutely revered Dadashri. Otherwise, there are people who practice ahimsa at the gross level to great lengths, but it is difficult to even know about the subtle, subtler, and subtlest levels of ahimsa. So forget about the point of even achieving those levels!

If the right understanding does not prevail about the himsa towards visible living beings as well as the subtlest of subtle living beings, such as vayukaya (one-sensed, non-mobile, air-bodied living beings), teukaya (one-sensed, non-mobile, fire-bodied living beings), and so on, all the way to bhaav himsa (violence committed towards the state as the Self) and bhaav maran (death of the state as the Self by believing, ‘I am the relative self,’ ‘I did it,’ ‘It happened to me’), then it will not yield results and the ahimsa will be limited to just words or actions.

Only the Ones who have completely conquered himsa, and are dwelling in the state of complete ahimsa, have the exact understanding of himsa and can disclose it to others! When One becomes steady in the Real form of the Self (Atma Swaroop), that is the only one state in which complete ahimsa prevails! And only the Tirthankar Lords (the absolutely enlightened Lords who can liberate others) and the Gnanis (Those who have realized the Self and are able to do the same for others) prevail in such a state! The Gnani Purush,who prevails in complete ahimsa amidst the ocean of himsa, has elaborated upon the exact understanding regarding himsa, from the gross level of himsa and ahimsa to the subtlest levels of himsa and ahimsa. This speech has been compiled and published with the inner intention that may the perspective of the people of this era, who are immersed in terrible himsa, change to some extent and may they be able to improve this life as well as their future lives.

Besides, who can refrain from committing himsa at the gross level? Even for the Tirthankar Lords Themselves, when They exhaled Their last breath before attaining nirvana (ultimate liberation from all karma, from the physical body, and the worldly cycle of birth and death), so many vayukaya ended up dying! If such offenses of himsa were applicable to Them at that moment, then They would undoubtedly have to take another birth somewhere else to clear off the demerit karma bound [through that act]. So then, would liberation ever be possible? Thus, what must They have beheld, through which They remained free from all demerit karma, merit karma, and all actions, and eventually attained ultimate liberation? All those mysteries can only be revealed by the manifest Gnani, in whose heart the Knowledge that resided in the heart of the Tirthankar Lords has become illuminated exactly as it is, and that is being published here as it is. The speech that has flowed forth from absolutely revered Dadashri, the Gnani of this era, has been compiled in this book on ahimsa. For those who desire the path of liberation, it will prove to be an extremely straightforward guide to practice ahimsa.

- Dr. Niruben Amin

(Pg.1)

Non-Violence

Progress Towards ‘Ahimsa Parmodharma’

Questioner: ‘On the path of ahimsa (non-violence), there is religious and spiritual progress.’ Could you please elaborate on this topic?

Dadashri: Ahimsa is itself the religion and ahimsa is itselfthe spiritual progress. However, here, ahimsa means to not hurt any living being, even to the slightest extent, through the mind, speech, or body. This should remain in your awareness, it should remain in your conviction, then religious and spiritual progress will be possible.

Questioner: How is the mantra ‘Ahimsa Parmodharma’ (‘Non-violence is the ultimate religion’) beneficial in one’s life?

Dadashri: Well for that, in the morning, before leaving home, you should recite the following intention five times, “May no living being in this world be hurt, even to the slightest extent, through the mind, speech, or body.” If you end up hurting someone thereafter, you should take a note of that and repent for that.

Questioner: How is it possible in this era of the time cycle, to live life without hurting anyone?

Dadashri: You simply have to maintain this intent and ensure that you apply that. Where you are not able to do so, you should repent for that.

(Pg.2)

Questioner: Is it really possible to live life without hurting a single living being amongst the many living beings around us? Is it possible to ever satisfy every single living being around us, in every circumstance?

Dadashri: The one who wishes to do so, can do everything. Even if it is not accomplished in one lifetime, it will nevertheless certainly be accomplished in two or three lifetimes! Your goal should be decided, the attention should simply be towards that, then it will definitely be accomplished.

Himsa Can Be Stopped Through Ahimsa

Questioner: What should I do to stop himsa (violence)?

Dadashri: You should constantly have the intent of ahimsa. People ask ‘us’, “For how long should I practice himsa and ahimsa?” ‘We’ tell them, “Lord Mahavir has given the distinction between himsa and ahimsa. ‘He’ was aware that the Dushamkaal (the current era of the time cycle, characterized predominantly by misery and almost no happiness) was approaching.” Would the Lord not have known what is considered himsa and what is not considered himsa? Lord Mahavir has said, “Maintain ahimsa in the face of himsa.” If the other person uses the weapon of himsa, then you should use the ‘weapon’ of ahimsa; only this will give rise to happiness. Otherwise, himsa will never stop through himsa. Himsa will stop through ahimsa.

The Understanding Regarding Ahimsa

Questioner: People are greatly inclined towards himsa, so what should be done to turn them towards ahimsa?

Dadashri: You should give them the [right] understanding. If you give them the [right] understanding, then they will turn towards ahimsa. Give them this understanding, “Dear fellow, God resides within every living being. Thus, if you kill any living being, then it will be hurt

(Pg.3)

immensely, and you will incur a liability for that. And this will in turn give rise to an avaran (a veil of ignorance over the Knowledge of the Self) for you, and you will have to regress terribly towards a lower life-form.” If you explain it to them in this way, then they will understand. “By killing other living beings, even the intellect deteriorates.” Do you give anyone such understanding?

Questioner: But if I feel strongly about practicing ahimsa, but certain people do not believe in that whatsoever, then what should I do?

Dadashri: If you feel strongly about practicing ahimsa, then you should practice ahimsa. Yet if certain people do not believe in that, then you should gently give them the [right] understanding. By approaching it gently in this way, they will start accepting it. If your efforts are towards that, then one day you will succeed.

Questioner: Earlier, You had given the understanding that we should become instrumental in the efforts towards preventing himsa. We should speak lovingly with the person who does not believe in the practice of ahimsa and give him the [right] understanding. But even after lovingly explaining it to him, if he still does not accept it, then what should we do? Should we allow the himsa to continue, or is it appropriate to forcefully try to stop it?

Dadashri: You should pray to God in this way, pray to whichever God you believe in, by saying, “Oh Lord, make everyone free of himsa.” Nurture this intention.

The Problem of Bedbugs

Questioner: What should I do if there are a lot of bedbugs at home?

Dadashri: Once there were a lot of bedbugs in my home too! This happened many years ago. When they would

(Pg.4)

bite me here, on the neck, I would put them here, on my leg. I could not tolerate them biting me on the neck, so when they would bite me on the neck, I would place them on my leg instead. This is because, if someone comes to our ‘restaurant’ and leaves hungry, then it is of no use, is it? Isn’t it better if one leaves after having eaten at our place! But you may not have the strength to do that. That is why ‘we’ are not telling you to do that. Instead, you should catch the bedbug and place it outside. At least you will feel satisfied that this bedbug has gone outside.

Now, the natural law is that even if you place a hundred thousand bedbugs outside, if seven bedbugs are going to bite you tonight, then those seven will not refrain from biting you. Even if you kill them, seven of them will still bite you. Even if you place them outside your home, seven of them will still bite you. Even if you place them far away, seven of them will still bite you. And even if you do nothing at all, seven of them will still bite you.

What do the bedbugs say? They say, “If you are noble, then let us take our food. And if you are not noble, then we will feed on our own, but when you are asleep. So why don’t you be noble right from the beginning!” So I became noble. Even if they were biting my entire body, I would let them do so. I could even manage to catch the bedbugs with my hand, but then I would place them back here, on my leg. Otherwise, they would end up feeding fully later anyway, when I would sleep! And they do not bring any containers to carry away any food with them. They feed on their share and leave, and it is not that they feed enough for ten to fifteen days at a go! So how can you let them go hungry? ‘Hey! So many feed peacefully and leave!’ So at night, you feel satisfied that these many [bedbugs] have left after being fed. You don’t have the strength to feed two people, whereas in this case, you have fed so many [bedbugs]!

(Pg.5)

Bedbug Killer, Are You the Maker of the Bedbugs?

Questioner: But if bedbugs, mosquitoes, and cockroaches pester us at home, should we take any steps to deal with them?

Dadashri: To prevent an infestation of bedbugs, mosquitoes, and cockroaches, you should mop the floors and do all such things, you should keep your house clean. For the cockroaches that are already there, you should catch them and drop them off outside, far away, somewhere outside the village. However, you should certainly not kill them.

There was a prominent man, having a post similar to a Collector. He called ‘us’ to his home. He told ‘us’, “We should definitely kill bedbugs.” ‘We’ asked him, “Where has this been written?” To that he replied, “But they bite us and suck our blood.” So ‘we’ told him, “Let me explain to you what the general rule is with regards to the right to kill them. Then whether you kill them or not is not my purview. If anyone in the world can create a bedbug himself, then he can kill it. You can destroy whatever you can create. You cannot destroy whatever you cannot create.”

So you have the right to kill the living being you can create. If you are not able to make it, if you are not able to create it, then you do not have the right to kill it. You can make this chair, so you can destroy the chair. You can make cups and saucers, so you can destroy them. But you have no right to destroy whatever you cannot create.

Questioner: Then why do they come to bite us?

Dadashri: They come because it is your karmic account. And it’s not as though this body is Yours, You [the Self] are not the owner of it. You [the relative self] have brought forth all of this karmic stock after ‘stealing’ it, so now, the bedbugs are stealing from you. With that,

(Pg.6)

the karmic accounts are all being cleared. So from now on, do not kill or hurt them.

One Cannot Steal From God’s Garden

It’s like this; say there is a garden here and outside the garden, there is a fence. And there are sponge gourds, bottle gourds, and other vegetables hanging over the fence. Even if they are outside the garden owner’s land, what will people say? [They will say,] “Hey, this is that person’s [someone who does not believe in or practice ahimsa] garden, don’t pick anything from it! Otherwise, he will beat you to a pulp.” And if the garden belongs to someone from their own community [those who practice ahimsa], then people will pick from it. This is because they know that this garden belongs to a person who has the intent to practice ahimsa. He will let them off. Whereas that other person will give them a proper thrashing. So when not a single sponge gourd or bottle gourd can be picked from that person’s garden, why are you killing a bedbug belonging to God’s ‘garden’? You are stealing from God’s ‘garden’! Do you understand this? So you cannot kill a single living being.

Do the Penance That Presents Itself Before You

Questioner: But what about the fact that the bedbugs bite us?

Dadashri: But its very food is blood. If you were to give it khichadee (rice and lentil dish), would it eat that? Even if you were to give it khichadee with a lot of clarified butter, would it eat that? No. Its very food is blood.

Questioner: But it’s not at all acceptable to let it bite us, is it?

Dadashri: But what about the hunger pangs that arise during the penance of fasting, should you tolerate that? Instead, why don’t you do this penance [that presents itself before you]! In fact, this penance is a direct cause for

(Pg.7)

liberation(moksha). Why are you doing penance that you have initiated yourself? Do the penance that presents itself before you! The penance that presents itself before you is a direct cause for liberation, whereas the penance that you initiate yourself is a cause for worldly life.

Questioner: Yes, that is a very good point. In the instance of fasting, we are going out of our way to do that penance; instead, we should concede to the penance that presents itself before us.

Dadashri: Yes, in the case of fasting, you are forcibly initiating it, whereas this one has presented itself before you, on its own! It’s not like you are going out to invite other bedbugs. However many bedbugs have come, [say to them,] “Eat peacefully, this is your home.” So feed them and then send them off.

His Mother Instilled the Values of Ahimsa

My mother was thirty-six years older than me. I asked my mother, “There are bedbugs in the home, aren’t they biting you?” My mother replied, “Son, they do bite, but it’s not like they come with a lunchbox like everyone else, demanding, “Give me some for my mother and father.” The poor things do not come with any containers, and they eat their share and go away!” I said, “Blessed is this mother! And blessed is this son too!”

If I came home after hitting someone with a brick, then what would my mother say to me? “If the poor child bleeds, he doesnot have a mother, so who will nurse his wounds? Whereas I am there for you. So, come home after having taken a beating, I will nurse your wounds. Come home having taken a beating, but do not come home after beating someone else.” Now tell me, would such a mother not make a Mahavir out of her son [in reference to Lord Mahavir, the absolutely enlightened Lord]?

(Pg.8)

Questioner: These days, it’s the other way around. These days, the parents say, “If you come home having taken a beating, you’ll be in trouble!”

Dadashri: It’s not just these days, it has always been that way from the beginning. It is not something that’s changed because of the current era of the time cycle. It was that way from the beginning. This is simply how the world is! In the midst of this, whoever wants to become a disciple of Lord Mahavir can become so, otherwise you will certainly have to become a disciple of [worldly] people. That person is the guru, he is the boss, and you are his disciple. Go ahead and keep taking beatings! Instead, it is better if Lord Mahavir is your boss, at least He is vitaraag (absolutely free from attachment and abhorrence). ‘He’ will not cause you to take a beating.

Maintain Cleanliness, Do Not Use Insecticides

Many people do not kill bedbugs, but they put their bedding out in the sun to heat. But I had told them at home to not do even that, I had told them to not put the bedding out in the sun. I told them, “Why are you troubling the poor bedbugs by putting them in the sun?” So, they asked, “Then how will they ever go away?” I replied, “The population of bedbugs does not decrease by killing them. It’s a misconception that by killing bedbugs, their numbers will decrease. They do not decrease by killing them. They may appear to decrease, but their number will be the same the following day.”

Therefore, you should clean regularly. If everything is cleaned regularly, then the bedbugs will not linger. However, if insecticides are used against them, then that is definitely considered an offense, isn’t it! And it’s not as if they are destroyed by the insecticides. They may appear to have died in one instance, but then

Impressum

Texte: Dada Bhagwan Aradhana Trust
Bildmaterialien: Dada Bhagwan Aradhana Trust
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 06.07.2017

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