Aptavani 05

Author(s): Dada Bhagwan
Publisher: Mahavideh Foundation

Page 58

Aptavani-5
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Aptavani-5
Penance is the Fourth Pillar of Moksha
The Lord has shown us the wonderful penance of unodari tapa' (the penance of eating less). Divide your meal as follows: two parts food, one part water, one part air, this is how you should eat.
The Lord has not spoken of only the three component of gnan-darshan-charitra (knowledge-vision-conduct respectively). He has also mentioned the fourth component, which is that of tapa (penance). There are four pillars of moksha. These four pillars are in the Kramic path as well as in the Akram path. Which penance? It is the penance that takes place during the suffering of pain (vedana). Headache is a pain that has to be suffered. In reality though, it is not considered suffering. One just has to continue to know the pain. Then there is another kind of suffering, for example when one is faced with a situation where his hand is being cut very slowly and sadistically. That is suffering. That is when penance is to be done. What does the Lord consider as penance? It is when you are in the 'home department'; in awareness as the Self (swa-parinati). It is the penance of not allowing the state of the Self to mix with the state of the non-Self (par-parinati). To remain steadfast in, these are circumstances of the non-Self; they are not Mine", is penance.
Such penance was done by Gajsukumar when he was in meditation of the pure Self. His father-in-law built a clay fire pit on his head and filled it with hot burning coals (the father-in-law was avenging Gajsukumar's abandonment of his daughter in order to follow his spiritual call). He realized then, 'O ho ho! This father-in-law is helping me by tying a turban of moksha.' In such penance, with the meditation of the pure Self, he went higher and higher, attained kevalgnan absolute knowledge) and went to moksha.
The Pain Pleasure Experiencing Karmas
You should tell this body, 'Hey body, hey mind, hey
speech! Sooner or later people are going to burn you or bury you. So instead of that, what if I burn you all today, is there anything wrong in that?
Why suffer something that is not yours? The Gnani Purush has told you what you are not; this you have understood through the intellect, so why suffer after that? So become a Kshatriya (a warrior with unflinching determination).
You would not like to destroy your one and only home. But if you have a lot of debts and you had to sell it and if after the papers had been signed the home gets destroyed, would it not be foolish of you to cry, my home...my home...!"?
Questioner: There is no problem when we use the words but when suffering of pain (vedaniya) comes, it shows its might.
Dadashri: What suffering have you had? It is suffering if you have paralysis. How can you call this suffering? Stomachache, headache or throbbing of any kind, how can you call that suffering? One of our mahatmas had paralysis. He told me, *Dada, people have come to see this "Mangaldas'. And I too am seeing him.'
Questioner: Until one attains spashta vedan (the clear direct experience of the Self) there will always be some kind of vedan (experience), like pain or pleasure (shata or ashata), will there not?
Dadashri: The nature of vedana (experience) is such that if one knows it to be alien (of the non-Self), then he will continue to know it as the alien, and will not experience it (vedey). But if he says, 'I experienced the suffering, then he will experience the suffering. And if he says, 'I cannot bear it', then the experience of the suffering will be ten fold. One must never say, 'I cannot bear this pain'.
If one leg is broken, then tell the other leg it too can