Non Violence

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

Page 11

Ahimsa
Ahimsa
kind of penance? Why not endure the penance that presents naturally? Naturally occurring penance is the cause of liberation, whereas self-created penance is the cause of worldly life.
way. It has nothing to do with the current times. This is the way of the world. There is a choice. One can become the disciple of Lord Mahavir and be free, or become a disciple of worldly gurus, and be bound. The latter creates further miseries. The Lord is vitrag (One devoid of all attachments). He is absolutely non-violent. It is better therefore to be a disciple of Mahavir.
Questioner : Yes! That is a very good point. Let the penance that presents itself, happen. Fasting is tough and requires a lot of effort.
Keep Everything Clean: Do Not Use Insecticides
Dadashri : Yes. In that you are creating circumstances for penance. Whereas here penance occurs spontaneously, you do not have to invite it. So feed all the bedbugs that come to you. Treat them with kindness and then send them off.
Non-Violence: A Gift From My Mother
My mother, Zaverba was thirty-six years older than I. One day I asked my mother if the bedbugs were also biting her and she replied: "Naturally dear, they will bite. But the poor things eat their share and are off again. They don't bring any containers, they simply eat their share and leave!" Blessed is this mother. Blessed also is the son.
Once I came home after a fight with someone at school. My mother took pity on the other child and told me that I should not have hurt him. She told me that the poor boy did not have a mother, so who would take care of his cuts and bruises? She even told me that I should not hurt anyone and that it was fine if someone were to hurt me because I had a mother who would take care of me. Now tell me, is such a woman not worthy of being the mother of a Mahavir?
Many people do not kill bedbugs. Instead they put their mattresses out in the sun to heat. In my household I would tell them not to do even that. Why trouble the poor bedbugs in the sun? People would still protest, wanting to be rid of them. It is a misconception to think that the population of the bedbugs decreases by killing them. They may appear to decrease but the same number will be found the following day.
We should simply keep everything clean and tidy. Maintaining cleanliness is the key to eliminating the problem of bedbugs. It is a crime to use insecticides and repellants on them. Besides, the chemicals do not destroy them; the insects just reappear elsewhere. You will not see a single insect at certain times, while at other times they seem to be abundant. This is because insects are seasonal. During such times, no matter how much insecticide you spray, they will keep thriving.
Payoff Your Debts Fast Questioner : A bedbug takes only the portion that is owed to it from the overall account does it not?
Dadashri : I have always paid off my debts to them, which is why I encounter just a few now. Even now, if a bedbug were to visit me, it would instinctively recognize that it is not going to be harmed. They know me. They also know the nature
Questioner : It is the other way round nowadays. Nowadays parents teach their children to fight back.
Dadashri : Not just nowadays, it has always been that