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Pratikraman
Pratikraman
when he has cleared all debits and credits from his karmic account.
(P. 3)
Questioner: In life, karma is inevitable. What should one do when one does a negative karma either knowingly or unknowingly?
Dadashri: If that happens, there is a remedy for it. Once a misdeed has been committed, repentance should follow immediately. You must repent wholeheartedly and with sincerity. Even after repentance, should you repeat the mistake, there is no need to worry. just repent again. You are not aware of the science behind all this, so you may feel that despite your repentance, the negative deeds do not stop. Why they do not stop, is also a science in itself. You must simply carry on repenting. If you repent for your misdeeds wholeheartedly, all your bad karma will be washed away. If you hurt someone, then you absolutely must repent.
Questioner: When we carry out our normal daily activities of the body, do we have to repent for it?
Dadashri: Yes of course! Until you become Self-Realized, if you fail to repent, you will continue to bind more karmas. The tangled knots of karmas will loosen through repentance with a view to undoing wrong deeds. If not, the result from sins you bind will be so horrendous that you may even forfeit human birth in your next life. And if you manage to attain human life again, it will be full of suffering and misery: You will be deprived of food and respect and suffer constant insults. That is why repentance along with other rituals become necessary. This is called indirect devotion, not directed to wards the Self. Until you attain SelfRealization, such acts are necessary.
Now, who should be a witness to your repentance? It must be done in the presence of the God you believe in, whether it is
Lord Krishna, Dada Bhagwan or any other God. There is a cure for everything in this world. First the cure is born, and then the problem or affliction arises.
How has the world come into existence? It is because of atikraman (aggression in thoughts, speech and acts). Kraman (neutral deeds - deeds which do not have any good or bad implications) alone does not cause any problems. For example, if we damage someone's property and compensate him for the damage, it is not considered atikraman and so pratikraman is not needed. But to blame someone else for the damage to his property is atikraman. Atikraman is always taking place, so you have to do pratikraman. Any activity that takes place as a normal activity is simply kraman and there is no problem with that.
Questioner: How do we know if we have done atikraman?
Dadashri: You will know and so will the other person. You will perceive it from the expression on his face and you will feel it too. It will affect you both. That is why pratikraman must be done.
Anger, pride, attachment and greed are all considered atikraman, so if you do pratikraman, they will diminish. If you do pratikraman immediately after atikraman, your anger, pride, attachment and greed will disappear. The worldly life is created by atikraman and destroyed by pratikraman.
(P.5) Questioner: So then what is pratikraman?
Dadashri: If a person insults you, you should understand who the real culprit is behind the insult. Is it the one who insults or is it the one who feels insulted? This should be determined first. You must understand that the person who insults you is not at fault, even in the slightest degree. He is merely a nimit (instrument),
(P.4)
