Aptavani-1 - Dada Bhagwan (novels for beginners .TXT) 📗

on this earth meaningful and fruitful.

One will have to come to the Gnani in order to realize the Soul. The cherished object cannot be attained from the one who is not familiar with that which one desires. To know the Soul, you will have to approach the Gnani, who is perennially in a state of meditation of the Soul – Nirvikalpa Samadhi - He is completely free from any sense of ‘I-ness’ and ‘My-ness’. The Gnani alone can place the Real in your hand. The Gnani has the ability to do anything and yet he performs all tasks in the spirit of being a mere instrument in the process. The Gnani never becomes a ‘doer’ of anything.

All the scriptures proclaim unanimously, ‘If you desire to realize the Pure Self, go to a Gnani.’ The lighted can kindle light in others. The Gnani is the perfect Self-Realization in the human form. He is therefore, the Liberator and the Saviour.

The Gnani lives in the present – not the past or the future. There is a permanent prevalence of the present within Him. A broken glass is the past and worries and anxieties about ‘What will happen now?’ is the future. The Gnani ‘lives’ in the minutest fraction of time, which is impossible to divide any further. Being Self-Realized, he has traversed and seen each and every atom of the cosmogony of the universe. Yet he remains the Knower – Perceiver of all that is to be known. Only the Gnani can reach to the level of the smallest indivisible fraction of time (samay) and sub-atomic matter, which can no longer be divided (parmanu).

There is no sorrow for that, which has past,

No yearning for that which is to come,

Gnani is He that is forever poised in the present.

If one comes to the Gnani in perfect humility and a spirit of ‘I know nothing’, one is sure to be lifted and liberated. Even once, if one surrenders his all, at the lotus feet of the Gnani, without any reservations, he will doubtlessly attain liberation – what an awe-inspiring mystery of the modern age!

Never has ‘Dada Bhagwan’, inflicted any pain on any living being. He has forever been in pursuit and presence of the Pure Self. So anything good, done sincerely in the name of Dada would certainly yield the right reward.

No language or words are apt to describe the Gnani. The pen too is halted in its process.

The Gnani defies all worldly measures of worldly scales. You should not gauge or judge him. The very effort of attempting to gauge Him would proclaim your gross ignorance, intellect penury and stubborn stagnation and create an obstruction on the only available path to liberation. It is sheer impudence to measure the Gnani with one’s own sense of what is of worth and the one who does, does so in proving one’s impropriety by such a wayward gesture. When one does not understand even a word of what the Gnani utters, how is it possible to measure Him? Ask yourself if you are qualified to judge a Gnani. The Gnani is not to be measured with the intellect – on the contrary, one should put aside all intellect before Him and go to Him with utmost humility. The intellect will always flash distorted and perverted mental images. Failure to understand the Gnani is the echo of one’s egotistical and rigid stubbornness. And if by chance that stubbornness is allowed to prevail before the Gnani, then lost forever is the only opportunity for liberation. Listen you fool! Liberation is only at the feet of the Gnani, and if even here you insist on being stubborn, where else will you go for liberation?

There is a saying in Gujarati: ‘Even a witch would leave out one home’. There must be at least one such a place where one should not be awkward or stubborn – let that place be only the place of the Gnani. Meddlesome interference elsewhere is tolerable, but not at all before and with the Gnani. If you do, you will create an indestructible obstacle in your path to liberation. Never, ever be cross with Him if you wish to solve the puzzle of your life.

You may honestly disagree with the Gnani, but you must not disregard him. Candid difference of opinion is not objectionable but beware of indifference or ineptitude. That would entail the greatest obstacle or barrier on the path of self-realization.

Being nonchalant towards or negating the Gnani is outright disregard. The Gnani who awakens the Self within all, is a reflection of that Self, thus disregard towards the Gnani is the same as disregard towards one’s Self. Those for whom stubbornness is an inherent trait need to be extremely cautious– a single humiliating gesture towards the Gnani will result in an eternal perdition in hell! If you do not relent your rigidity and stubbornness before the One who has won over the Lords of all three universes, where else will you relent? Only upon complete surrender before the Gnani can one accomplish his task.

This divine book of Knowledge is primarily for elevated thinkers, those with scientific minds and those seeking refuge in the tranquility of the Soul from the fires of suffering of the worldly life. It is my ardent prayer that the light of Knowledge within this divine book renders in the reader, the experience of the Soul’s tranquility – especially in this time cycle of immense suffering – as was experienced by those who lived during satyug - the first of the four ages characterized by virtue, wisdom and morality.

- Dr. Niruben Amin

Note to the reader

The words ‘You’ or ‘Self’ when they begin with an initial capital ‘Y’ or ‘S’ respectively, refers to the Soul or the real Self or the Atma. Otherwise, they are used for the non-self also referred to as the relative-self, ‘Chandulal’ or the prakruti.

Whenever Dadashri uses the name ‘Chandulal’ or the name of the person Dadashri is addressing, the reader should insert his or her name for exact understanding.

The words Self and Soul are interchangeable. The Soul is one’s real Self.

Note About This Translation

The Gnani Purush Ambalal M. Patel, also commonly known as Dadashri or Dada, had said that it would be impossible to translate his satsangs and the knowledge about the Science of Self-realization verbatim into English because some of the meanings would be lost in the process. Therefore, in order to understand precisely the science of Akram Vignan and Self-realization, He stressed the importance of learning Gujarati.

Dadashri did however grant his blessings to translate his words into English and other languages so that spiritual seekers could benefit to a certain degree and later progress through their own efforts.

This is a humble attempt to present to the world, the essence of His Knowledge. This is not a literal translation but great care has been taken to preserve His original words and the essence of His message. For certain Gujarati words, several English words or even sentences are needed to convey the exact meaning; hence, many Gujarati words have been retained within the English text for better reading flow.

A glossary of all the Gujarati words is provided at the back of the book. For additional glossary, visit our website at:

www.dadabhagwan.org

Many people have worked diligently towards achieving this goal and we thank them all. Please note that any errors encountered in this translation are entirely those of the translators.

Aptavani 1

Dharma – Religion; One’s Duty

‘What is dharma?’

It is anything that remains in and results in its own intrinsic properties.

Dharma means one’s intrinsic nature and properties.

For example, when can you call gold, gold? It is only when it exhibits the properties that are intrinsic to gold. Another example is if these grapes are bitter, then you could say that it does not exhibit its intrinsic property. Brass can look and shine just like gold if it is polished enough. But if a goldsmith were to test it, he would be able to tell that it is not gold from the intrinsic properties of that metal.

There are two mangos in front of you. One mango has an aroma and given time it will become a little dry, the skin will shrivel and will eventually begin to rot. The other one looks exactly like a mango, only it is made out of wood. It does not have the aroma; it will not shrivel or rot. They are both mangos, but one does not have the qualities of a real mango. The real mango will exhibit its natural properties. It can only be called a mango if it has and remains within its natural attributes.

Similarly you can say that a thing is in its innate nature, goon dharma, if it exhibits its innate nature. The belief of ‘I am the body’, or to believe the body, the non-self, to be your real identity is par-dharma (dharma of another). To believe the Self (Soul) as the Self is sva-dharma (own dharma). That is atma-dharma, dharma of the Self.

Dadashri : Who Are You?

Questioner : I am Chandulal.

Dadashri : What is your name?

Questioner : My name is Chandulal.

Dadashri : Do you see a contradiction in the statements ‘I am Chandulal’ and ‘My name is Chandulal’? How can the name and the entity it belongs to, be one and the same? When a person dies, his name is taken away from him during his funeral rites, is it not? It is even removed from the census records.

Who does this hand belong to? Who does this leg belong to?

Questioner : They are mine.

Dadashri : They are all parts of this body. What is yours in all that? Who does the mind within you belong to?

Questioner : It is mine.

Dadashri : What about speech?

Questioner : It is mine.

Dadashri : Whose body is this?

Questioner : That is mine too.

Dadashri : When you say, ‘it is mine’, does it not occur to you that the owner of these body parts is separate from the body?

Questioner : Yes.

Dadashri : Then have you ever wondered who you really are?

Questioner : No.

Dadashri : Before you purchased this watch or even the clothes you are wearing, you checked to see if they were of good quality. Even when you were looking for a wife, you looked very closely to see what she was like before you married her, did you not?

Questioner : Yes Dada.

Dadashri : So then have you ever inquired about your own Self? Have you thought about what is temporary and what is permanent? “All these are temporary adjustments.” When You, the real Self who is permanent, mix it up with temporary things, how can you find the answer? If your equation is wrong to begin with, how will you find the correct answer?

Do you think it a trivial or a major error on your part that you have not realized your Real Self?

Questioner : It is a huge mistake. It is a blunder Dada!

Creation Of The World

Dadashri : Who do you think created this world?

Questioner : ………

Dadashri