Aptavani 02

Author(s): Dada Bhagwan
Publisher: Mahavideh Foundation

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to a Jain monastery to listen to a discourse, people do mischief and play pranks in the background. There they have the law of "Keep quiet' and yet there is mischief - when everyone is doing samayik some people do mischief and make fun of others and break their concentration.
People living in this time cycle of dushamkaal (current time cycle characterized by a progressive decline in morality and spirituality) are not suitable for such laws. Their minds become even more spoilt the moment you control them. Elsewhere they have to maintain written rules even for one rule. Then if something out of the ordinary were to occur, they would have to make rules to address that. They have to dig out their old books of rules and regulations and refer to them.
Discretion in matters of law A very elderly Jain Maharaj went to spend Chaturmasa (a period of four months in a rainy season, July to October) in a Jain monastery. He had hurt his leg and could barely walk. When the Chaturmasa was over, he was told, "You now have to do vihar (leave the ashram)." His leg had not healed so he asked them if he could extend his stay. The head of the monastery told him that under the rules of the ashram, he had already spent the maximum time there hence his stay could not be extended. The old Maharaj had no choice but to leave, so he said, "Okay, I will go to the village of Chhani; it is four miles away, I will go there. But I cannot walk four miles, so can you arrange for a doli (a man held carrier made especially for transporting debilitated people)?" The sanghpati (head of the monastery) tells him, "I do not recall having made such arrangements for anyone before." He then consulted his past records and rulebooks but could not find any incident where such services had been provided for a Maharaj. He told the Maharaj. "There is no rule for such a provision, what can I do? How can I break the rules?" Now tell me does everyone have
difficulty in walking that a provision would be made for such a rule? Should people not have common sense in dealing with such situations or is one to hang on to rules with idiotic obstinacy?
That poor Maharaj came to me and said to me, "Look at this uncomfortable situation the sangh (company) has put me in. They keep telling me to leave but no one wants to pay fifty rupees and arrange for a doli for me. Please help me find a way." 'We'then made arrangements to pay for the doli. The sangh sent off the Maharaj with pomp and grandeur. They arranged a flamboyant procession with a band blaring music and the sanghpati decked in his fancy turban and clothes lead the procession!
They spent 500 hundred rupees for the festivities and the procession to bid the Maharaj farewell but they could not afford to pay 50 rupees for his doli! If you ask them why, they would tell you, "There is a rule that allows for paying for the procession but none for paying for a doli. Such a rule is not to be found even in our history so how can we make provision for it?"
Now if this is not called avyavahar (discourtesy, unnatural worldly dealing), then what else can we call it?
We do not have any rules here, but at the same time, we cannot break other people's laws and rules. By breaking someone else's rules, you become a nimit (instrumental) in encouraging others adversely. We cannot do such a thing. Really no one blames you, but if you become instrumental in doing such a thing you will incite others to think they too can break their laws. This is why we should respect other people's laws.
'We do not have any laws: 'we' have only Agnas (special directives). There are rules and regulations in the relative world but there are no rules or regulations here.
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