Pratikramana Freedom Through Apology and Repentance

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

Page 34

Pratikraman
Pratikraman
Questioner: Is it considered artadhyan or raudradhyan when we see faults in others?
Dadashri: Yes. A person will see faults in others if that is the kind of baggage he has brought with him from his previous life. The Self is faultless and does not see fault in others. He must do pratikraman when he sees faults in others. That is all he has to do. Everything he does in this life is the discharge of the baggage he has brought with him from his previous life. (P.199)
For instance, if someone knocks on your door in the middle of the night and when you check to see who it is, you see a friend of yours with a group of his friends, would you not open the door?
Questioner: Yes I would.
Dadashri: What would you tell them? Would you tell them to go away because it is so late?
Questioner: Of course not. How could I do that? Dadashri: Well then what would you say? Questioner: I would invite them in.
Dadashri: You would invite them in. You have been brought up with good moral values so you would invite them into your home. You carry away your sleeping child to make room on the sofa for them. You do all this but in your mind you are thinking what a nuisance it is that they come visiting at such an inappropriate hour. When you do this, it is raudradhyan, not artadhyan. Artadhyan means to suffer the consequences within only. But in this case, you starts additional adverse meditation, and blame your guests for the problem. This is the spoiling of your internal bhaav towards your guests. You are blaming them for visiting you so late in the night
On the outside however, you continue your appearance of being cordial. After they are seated, you ask them if they would like some tea. Your friend says that they would prefer a simple hot meal instead. You now think to yourself, just wait until the wife hears this. She's going to stew you in the kitchen! She also starts raudradhyan.
What is the Lord's Agna? What should people who want liberation do? We live in a terrible time cycle that influences our bhaav negatively, so that in such circumstances it is natural to have a bhaav like, 'Why are they here at this hour?' All the prevailing circumstances in such a time, lead even the most noble of men to have such a bhaav.
Why are you creating such a cause from within, when on the outside you portray an image of graciousness? Your welcoming them nicely is an effect. Through your bhaav, however, you are sowing new seeds, which will give its effect in the next life. With your negative bhaav, you are creating a new account.
When faced with such a situation, you must ask God for forgiveness and admit your mistakes. Do not worry about changing anything, but as long as you do pratikraman and erase your mistakes, you will be doing the right thing for your next life.
These strange times will indeed pressure you to act in an ambiguous and contradictory manner. Even those who seem to have control over their senses fail in this respect. If you erase it with pratikraman, you will reap its benefits in the next life. (P.205)
Questioner: Within an hour I do at least twenty-five atikramans.
Dadashri: Then do collective pratikraman for them. Questioner: How do I go about doing that? What should