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can be removed by saying "Not mine, not mine.' And if you want to get attached again, then instead of saying 'not mine', say 'mine' and you will get attached. Do you understand that? You do not need any glue for this, it will stick without glue! Achieve everything even without mamata
This is just a ghost of mamata (my-ness) that has possessed you. It will go away if I remove it for you. Mamata is the demon witch and I am the exorcist for it. So if you move around in this world without mamata, you will get a lot of respect. But no one lets go of his or her my-ness. I ask people, 'what do you want? What do you crave for?' and they say, 'I have a craving for respect (maan).' What else? Then they will say, 'Something to eat and drink. 'So then let go of this my-ness (mamata) and you will get whatever you need. But people tell me, 'If I let go. I will lose whatever I do have.' And so they will not let go. Entrapment is the consequence of greed
(lalacha) Greed (alacha) makes a monkey force his hand through the narrow opening of a pot, thinking 'I will take out some nuts! He forces his hand through, grabs the nuts in a fist but cannot pull his hand out because his fist is too wide. He starts screaming because he cannot pull his hand out. Now why won't he let go of what is inside his fist? All he understands is 'since I was able to put my hand in, I should be able to pull it out, but why I can't? Maybe somebody has grabbed hold of me from the inside!' But he will not let go of the nuts in his fist, and he keeps on screaming. In trying to free himself he tries to pick up the pot but he cannot because it is stuck in the ground. Then people will gather around and catch him. This is how people catch monkeys. People are clever too because they have been there. They know their relatives'! Don't they catch monkeys this way? You will have to understand all this, won't you?
Subtle observation of one's own nature
In the old days, people used to make yogurt in small clay pots. Cats have a habit of drinking milk and yogurt so what do they do? They stick their heads in the pot to taste the yogurt because they can smell it. They will not leave the pot alone. When no one is around, the cat will force its head inside the pot. It has the strength to force its head in but not to pull it out. So then, it walks around with the pot around its head! I have seen cats do this. Have you not seen such a thing? I used to be very mischievous so I would find ways of playing tricks. If I could not then others would teach me. You have to be mischievous in order to play games like this. It was because of my nature that I found such tricks
Questioner: All of us are walking around with our heads in a pot, Dada
Dadashri: Arey! People walk around doing just that, don't they? I see them all the time. I have broken the pots for many people, what can the poor people do? How long can they go around with their heads in a pot? Poor fellows, they cannot even see.
Questioner: How many such 'pots' have you broken?
Dadashri: I will not tell you the number but I have broken the pots for sure. Now that they can see, they say, 'I will not stick my head in the pot again!' They learn from their experiences. Having learnt from their experience, they will not repeat the mistake again.
Belief that creates mamata (my-ness)
There is nothing in the worldly life that hinders you. What is there in the world to hinder you? Where nothing is truly yours, you believe it to be yours. Have you made a decision that nothing is yours? What kind of belief is this? Say if you believe a certain bank to be yours. And one day when you go there and
