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Aptavani-8
265
What you are, is not the belief you have, and what you are not, is the belief that has set in. They are all wrong beliefs. And all these beliefs are relative, not real.
Questioner: To get to the real stage, what does one have to do?
Dadashri: You have to realize the real. When 'we' give you this Gnan; that is when you realize the real. Liberation Demands Siddhantik Understanding
Questioner: But in the book it tells you to apply your mind to the Atma, and you will find liberation.
Dadashri: Yes, but only after you know the Atma, can you apply it. Unless you realize the Atma, who would you call Atma? Isn't it also written that the Atma cannot be burned, or that it cannot be drenched with water?
Questioner: Yes.
Dadashri: Then nowadays, there are even watches which are, waterproof and fireproof. So what I am trying to say is that do you not get watches like that now? The Atma is not like that. The Atma is an abode of infinite attributes (gunas), and it is itself the Absolute Soul (Parmatma). When it comes into the state of the Kevali (the ones with Absolute Knowledge), it is considered the Absolute Soul; however, when it is not in the state of Absolute Knowledge, and it is in the form of words, it is then called the interim stage (antaratma; the awakened Self). If it has dependency on words, it is called the interim state Soul (antaratma). But there is not a lot of difference between the interim state of the Soul and the Absolute Soul. The interim Soul (antaratma) is on its way to becoming the Absolute Soul (Parmatma), whereas the other has already become the Absolute Soul – that is the only difference.
Questioner: In many of the verses in the scriptures