[5.3] The Mystery Behind Different Faces

different for each one. Niyati does not apply at all. Niyati is actually one of the factors.

Questioner: So then why the disparity?

Dadashri: This itself is the law of niyati. Niyati means that the flow [of evolution of a soul] continues to move ahead. The flow is like these policemen marching in lines of a hundred. In our case, a person may be sitting here right now, then he gets up and moves further up, so another person comes to sit where he was originally sitting. So the space is different for every individual, isn’t it! The space of each person who is sitting here right now is different, isn’t it!

Questioner: The fact that everyone gets a different space, on what basis is that?

Dadashri: It is on the basis of niyati. What is the theory of niyati (niyativaad)? One’s state in niyati begins from the moment a jeev (living being) comes from avyavahaar rashi (a state of uncategorized souls that have not yet entered worldly interactions) into vyavahaar rashi (worldly nomenclature). One remains in that state until liberation is attained. Niyati means that whatever mile [of spiritual development] a living being is on, it will have the relative knowledge and vision (gnan-darshan) of that mile only.

Questioner: And is niyati also the basis for the kshetra?

Dadashri: Yes, niyati is also the basis for that. For everyone, the external space is subject to niyati. Furthermore, niyati alone is not able to do all of this. If it were niyati alone, then no other solution would be needed in the world. However, after acquiring the space, this egoism does all the work.

Questioner: Is the process of attaining liberation also dependent on niyati?

Dadashri: Whatever space there is, it is dependent upon niyati. The instrumental entity (nimit) through which the process of bondage is occurring, is also the very same instrumental entity through which the process of liberation goes on. Therefore, niyati has nothing to do with this. Niyati just provides you with the space and all other such adjustments in the interim. Niyati is at work, but niyati is the same for everyone, in equal proportions. If a hundred people have set out, then there should be space for a hundred people to stand in, shouldn’t there? As one has a physical body, one needs that much space to stand in. And the self certainly has its own place, because as long as it is the worldly self, it will inevitably occupy space!

Questioner: Niyati is also involved in the process of becoming bound, isn’t it, Dada?

Dadashri: Niyati is not instrumental in the process of becoming bound. Niyati is actually helpful; it is helpful even in the process of becoming bound, and it is helpful even in the process of becoming liberated. Niyati does not actually cause any problems.

Questioner: So every living being would definitely be passing through that space, wouldn’t it?

Dadashri: Definitely. When one reaches the sixteenth mile, then whatever was the state of the previous living being at that point, that is the very same state that he will attain.

Questioner: Is it the case that every living being must pass through that mile, and every living being will have the exact same experience?

Dadashri: Yes. When a living being comes to a certain step on the sixteenth mile, he has a certain experience that he gains from it; now, if another living being encounters the very same step, then he too will have the same experience.