Pratikramana Freedom Through Apology and Repentance

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

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Pratikraman
Pratikraman
The instant I utter a word, I am simultaneously doing pratikraman with fervor.
Questioner: But when you tell the truth about something, then why is it necessary to do pratikraman?
Dadashri: No, I still have to do pratikraman. Why did I see someone's fault? Why did I see his fault even though he is faultless? Why did I criticize him despite this? Any truth that hurts others is not considered truth and must not be uttered. If uttered, this truth becomes a fault. It represents violence.
The way to liberation is through alochana, pratikraman and pratyakhyan. What do our mahatmas (people who are SelfRealized) do? They do alochana, pratikraman and pratyakhyan throughout the entire day. If you were to ask them to do rituals and practice austerities such as fasting and penance, they will tell you that they have no need for such austerities because they have no worries and are content. They remain constantly at peace with themselves and free from all woes and anxieties, undeterred by the external world. So why would they want to complicate their lives by introducing chaos in the form of fasting etc? People who are confused do all these complicated penances and other rituals. People, who do rituals, enjoy doing them and need to do them. That is why I say that penance is for those who derive pleasure from it. Those who have a passion for the worldly life should do penance.
Questioner: People believe that in doing penance, karmas are being dispelled.
Only internal penance, can lead to discharge of karmas. That is the kind of penance these mahatmas'do'. Any penance, which is visible to others, will result in punya. The penance that remains unseen will lead to liberation.
(P.75) These sadhavijis (Jain nuns) know that they experience internal kashays (anger, pride, attachment and greed) throughout their day, so what should they do? Every evening they should mentally recall, the day's events during which they experienced even the slightest negative inner feelings towards others. Recalling each and every incident where such a feeling arose, they must do pratikraman and pratyakhyan for each one, for forty-eight minutes. If they do this then they are on the path of liberation. But the poor things, they do not do any such thing, so what can one do? If they were to understand the path to moksha, they would be on it, but first they need to understand it.
Questioner: Until they can confess and repent on a one on one basis, they will still harbor a grudge from within. So do they need to ask for forgiveness in person?
Dadashri: There is no need to ask for forgiveness directly from the person with whom the fault is committed. The Lord has forbidden this. You can only ask someone's forgiveness directly, if that person is well meaning and noble. However, if you attempt to do this with a weak person, he will only throw it back in your face. The weak person will become weaker. And the entire world is weak. Unless the person whose forgiveness you seek is goodnatured, you must not attempt to apologize to him personally. A weak person will always retaliate by saying: "See, I knew all along that you were wrong, but you did not understand. Now you realize that you were wrong." - The foolish man! He does not realize that he is the one at fault and that he is the wretched one in need of
Dadashri: That will never happen. Which penance brings about a discharge of karmas? It is not the penance that is visible to the eye, and heard by the ears. This is all external penance.