Non Violence

Author(s): Dada Bhagwan
Publisher: Dada Bhagwan Foundation

Page 10

Ahimsa
Ahimsa
Therefore I ask you to simply catch it and put it outside. At least you can get some peace of mind knowing that it is not in your bed.
Nature's law is such that even if you were to throw out a hundred thousand bedbugs, if tonight only seven of them were to bite you, then seven will not leave without finishing their task. Even if you were to kill them, seven bedbugs would still bite you, whether you throw them far away from your home or you do nothing. They will bite you regardless of what you do.
Questioner: So why do the bedbugs come to bite?
Dadashri : They do so because you have a pending debt with them. Your body does not belong to you alone. It is not your property in the first place, you have 'stolen' it and so the bedbugs are stealing from you. When they bite you, your accounts are being settled and your debts are being paid off. So from now on, do not kill them.
One Cannot Steal From The Lord's Garden
That is why I do not put up any resistance. I allow them to bite me when I am awake, or else they would bite me in my sleep. At least they do not bring containers to carry away extra food with them. All they do is eat their share and go home. There is a sense of satisfaction that this body has fed so many other lives. These days it is hard to feed even two individuals. Bedbug Killer, Are You The Creator Of Bedbugs?
Questioner : What steps should we take to deal with all the bedbugs, mosquitoes and cockroaches in the house?
Dadashri : To prevent them from infesting the home, you should clean the home and keep it clean. You should catch the roaches, take them outside and throw them far away, but you should not kill them under any circumstances.
Let us say there are mangos growing in your neighbor's garden, and some are hanging over the fence that separates your yard and his. Your neighbor's religious beliefs are different. He does not believe in Ahimsa and so he is quick to punish and hit anyone who picks his fruits. People do not touch his fruits out of fear. Now if you can refrain from stealing from your neighbor's garden, why can you not refrain from killing the bedbug in the garden of the Lord? Do you understand that you are stealing from The Lord's garden?
Suffer The Penance In Front Of You Questioner : But what if the bedbug bites severely?
Dadashri : Blood is the food for the bedbug. Do you expect it to eat rice and ghee? Will it eat the rice even if we make it nice and creamy for it? No, because blood is its food.
Questioner : But is it fair to just let it continue to bite?
Dadashri : Do you not occasionally fast as a means of penance? In that penance, do you not tolerate the pangs of hunger? Then why not accept the bites of the bedbug as a form of penance? This penance presents itself directly to you. It is the basis for liberation - moksha. Why must you create your own
Once a very prominent man invited me to his home. He made the statement that bedbugs ought to be killed because they bite and suck blood. I asked him where it was written that the bedbugs should be killed. I explained to him that a person has a right to kill a bedbug only if he is able to create one. The general rule is that you cannot destroy what you cannot create.