Pratikramana Freedom Through Apology and Repentance

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

Page 25

Pratikraman
Pratikraman
worldly endeavor and you realize that you have said more than you should have, then you should immediately do pratikraman.
(P.134)
Questioner: Can one charge interest on money one lends?
Dadashri: If Chandulal wants to claim interest, let him do so, but tell him he will have to do pratikraman for it. (P 130)
If you have lent some money to a person and he is not returning it, your pratikraman will affect the other person positively and he will be inspired to return your money. Generally, people create havoc and curse their creditors who demand payment. Would this not create a negative karma? People make matters worse. The entire world is effective. And that is why you have to do pratikraman for the person who is refusing to retum your money.
Questioner: If you do pratikraman for the borrower, will he not continue to borrow?
Dadashri: It is not a question of whether he will ask to borrow from you or not. The important thing here is not to let any attachmentor abhorrence occur. The borrowing may still continue.
(P131) If a person wants to be happy in this world but he does not care about religion, I would tell him that he should be honest and ethical. Then, he does not need to go to a temple. Giving to others is a godly quality. To avoid taking something that does not belong to you is a human quality. Honesty is the highest religion. Dishonesty is the best foolishness.
It is not possible to be honest all the time, but if one understands that it is wrong to be dishonest and does pratikraman for it, then his next life will be happy. A person is surely honest when he repents.
If you have a disagreement with your associate in any
If your bank manager refuses you a loan, you will begin to dislike him and have negative thoughts towards him. You should realize that the mistake is yours, so you should wash it off by doing pratikraman. This is what I call awareness.
I will explain to you how obstacles in life come about. If you call a person who works for you, an idiot, this becomes an obstacle for your own commonsense. Obstacles created in this way, trap the entire world and the human life goes to waste. You have no right to tell anyone that he has no sense. If you do this, that person may retort by calling you an idiot and create an obstacle for himself. Similarly if you call someone unworthy, you are creating an obstacle to your own self worth. Now tell me how can this world be saved from such obstacles? If you do pratikraman immediately, then you will be able to wash away these obstacles before they become impossible to remove.
Questioner: In my work, in order to accomplish certain deadlines, I have insulted and mistreated many people.
Dadashri: You must do pratikraman for them all. When you mistreated them, you were only fulfilling your duty. You did not do it for yourself therefore your intention was not bad.(P.135)
8. Freedom From Human Bondage Questioner: What must we do to be free from the relations of previous lives that are now in front of us?
Dadashri: If you are forced to live with someone you do not like, then on the outside you should continue your worldly relationship with that person and from within you must do