The Mystery Behind Different Faces

The Rule of Binding the Realm of Existence for the Next Life...

Questioner: When is that place, what you refer to as space, decided? Is it at the time of birth?

Dadashri: Forty-eight minutes before the time of death. At the time of death, a balance sheet of one’s entire life gets tallied, and that too, in the last forty-eight minutes... If those forty-eight minutes are taken care of [spent in awareness as the Self,] then the person’s spiritual work will be accomplished.

Questioner: So how is one to understand reincarnation (punarjanma)?

Dadashri: No one, not even God, has any involvement with reincarnation; it is one’s karmic account. Everyone’s karmic accounts are different. Why are the karmic accounts not the same? This is because, of all those who are sitting here, are they all sitting in different places or not? Therefore, the space is different for each one, subsequently their karma are different. So, their karmic accounts are entirely different. And as one expresses egoism, he binds nothing but merit and demerit karma, for which he has to take birth again to suffer their effects.

Questioner: Just today, while sitting on the bus, I was thinking about how everyone’s faces are so different, there is no resemblance whatsoever.

Dadashri: No, but this clarification that I have given is a very significant clarification. It is because the space is different that the faces are different, and that is why the worldly life is carrying on.

Why Isn’t There Just One Religion?

Questioner: Why have various types of religions (dharma) emerged?

Dadashri: The space that people occupy varies, so their thoughts differ, that is why various types of religions have emerged.

Questioner: Dada, the true dharma of humans is Sat Chit Anand (to be the Self; to be in the form of eternal Knowledge and Vision and bliss), so then why are there so many religions? And when will all these religions become one?

Dadashri: When everyone’s faces become identical that is when all the religions will become one. You may say, “This should not be used,” whereas the other person will say, “This should be used.” The minds are different, the faces are different, the space is different. The space for everyone sitting here is different, isn’t it! As long as the space is different, there cannot be one religion.

Questioner: So when would they become one?

Dadashri: The space can never become one. So however many people come into this space in this way, those many people will attain the Self and will leave [worldly life] quickly. Until then, people will have to indeed continue suffering in the ‘heat’. Some may have a higher degree of ‘fever’, while others may have a lesser degree of ‘fever’.

Questioner: We worship different forms and use different names and call out to Him [a particular God]. In that, when we observe all such things as the affinity towards Him, and the formation of that [religion], what is all that?

Dadashri: These are in fact varieties of the relative. There are infinite types of varieties. This is because, as every living being occupies a different space, there are endless types of varieties.

Questioner: The reason for each individual’s face being different is the space, but I do not quite understand the link that because of this reason this is the effect that has come about. How did that come to be?

Dadashri: The fundamental factor is space, nothing else. Now, how does this work in this scenario? In this, the causes are set in such a way that space is 50 % of the causal factor and the remaining 50% are due to the other things. But whatever has the higher percentage is what is normally considered to be the cause. One cannot say that only one thing is the cause, that space alone is the cause, but the reason ‘we’ say that space is the fundamental factor is that space represents 50% of the cause.

Nature Controls Even Karma!

Questioner: Whatever space one acquires, is it bound through one’s karma?

Dadashri: Yes, that is all indeed due to karma. The dravya, the kshetra, the time, and the intent are all bound through karma indeed. One acquires a kshetra based on that. Right now, the fact that you are sitting in this kshetra, that is your karmic account for sure. So all of the karma is prearranged. But who controls this karma? Nature controls it. This space that you are sitting in, did you know that this is the exact space you would be sitting in? Did you know that Dada will be talking to you at this time?

Questioner: No.

Dadashri: Vyavasthit brings together all these circumstances, and our work gets done. There is no need for God in all of this.

Questioner: Through which causes do the circumstances come together?

Dadashri: Say you do not drink alcohol, but if you were to say right now that it is good to drink alcohol, or that there is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol, then you will encounter the circumstance of [drinking] alcohol [in your next life]. Therefore, everything in this world that has come together for you is on account of your bhaav (belief; intent). You alone, you are whole and sole responsible for your life. Nobody else is responsible. God is not responsible for your life. God does not do anything; He is residing within, vitaraag (absolutely free from all attachment and abhorrence).

Knowledge and Space Are the Basis of Illusory Effort

Now, you may never be stealing, but one day you may be sitting somewhere in public, at which time all your discharging karma is good for the most part, but a man sitting nearby gets up and goes outside, leaving some gold and precious jewelry lying around. So an intent to steal them arises in your mind. So that is considered as a negative purusharth (illusory effort; karmic cause) arising, even though you do not steal the jewelry. The fact that this intent arose is considered negative purusharth.

Questioner: Meaning that a seed has been sown once again. Now, that happened through the push of an evidence, didn’t it?

Dadashri: No, it happened due to the negative purusharth. It is only on account of the nimit that you went there and left from there, but you are the one doing the negative purusharth.

Questioner: This is where I had the confusion; I could not find a solution in my mind that if this intent that arises within is due to the push of an evidence, then that too cannot be in our control.

Dadashri: No, it is not like that. Of course that is definitely in your control! Why do you not fall into a well?

Questioner: Those who want to fall in it, do so, Dada.

Dadashri: They may do so, but why doesn’t anyone else? The negative-positive intents that arise are dependent upon today’s knowledge. As one becomes more cultured, he does not greatly like the intent of hitting others, does he?

Questioner: Yes, that is not to be found.

Dadashri: There is not much killing and stealing in developed cultures, is there? They may be stealing at a subtle level, but there is no overt stealing. This is because all of those people have come to that state having done the purusharth to put an end to [overt] stealing.

Questioner: That purusharth that they do...

Dadashri: That is illusory effort (bhrant purusharth).

Questioner: For those who have not attained Gnan, the automatic purusharth that is happening of moving from ill intents towards good intents, is that...

Dadashri: It is never automatic in that sense. There definitely is knowledge behind the illusory effort; it is worldly knowledge. Worldly knowledge is indeed there as long as one has not attained the Knowledge of the Self. So, when you hit someone, that knowledge becomes the cause of teaching him that he should not fight again.

So he attains that knowledge. He would not have attained that knowledge had you not hit him. One cannot see one’s own mistakes, can he! It is only when he takes a big beating that he will realize, ‘This is the result of the mistake I had made.’ So then he will not make that mistake again.

Questioner: In any such incident that has happened, the push of the instrumental evidence causes the intent to arise within, then does that also happen because of such knowledge or does it happen naturally?

Dadashri: It happens based on the knowledge; not nature or anything like that. You are indeed the projector, and this is the projection. Whatever you do, you will receive the effect of that one after another… Now, on what basis does one project? The answer is, it is based on the relative knowledge one attains.

Questioner: Yes, but why does everyone not attain the same knowledge? From a single circumstance that arises, the knowledge that everyone attains is different, why is that?

Dadashri: That will remain different right until the end. This is because everyone’s seat is different; the space is different; so it will certainly remain different. The differences in thinking will remain right until the end. Time and everything else is the same, but the space is different. Yes, otherwise everything was indeed niyati (the level of spiritual development of a soul as it progresses naturally on the track of evolution). If it were to be niyati alone, then the entire world would be dependent upon niyati. However, nature has not allowed anyone to become arrogant. No one can claim, “I did it.”

As the time is not fixed, therefore the thoughts are not fixed either; everyone’s thoughts are different. It is the space alone that is the only thing that is different, nothing else is different.

The eternal element which this body is made up of, is the same eternal element that the cows and buffaloes are made up of. It is the very same eternal element; it is only due to the difference in the space that there is a difference in these intents. And as there is a difference in the intents, this entire world has come into being. Did you understand what is in your control?

Questioner: Thinking or giving rise to intents is in our control.

Dadashri: You should turn them around.

Questioner: However much space is predetermined, one will receive in accordance with that, won’t he?

Dadashri: The space is different. Two people cannot sit in the same place, can they!

Questioner: That is true, and a person has at least something of his own, doesn’t he?

Dadashri: Furthermore, it is his bhaav (belief; intent) that is considered his own. That is referred to as his bhaav. There is the dravya, the kshetra, the time, and the intent. So time is of just one type; the dravya meaning the I (hu), is of just one type. However, this is his bhaav, the bhaav of the one acquiring the Knowledge of the Self [during Gnan vidhi], and this place; the place affects one and the bhaav affects one; both give rise to an effect. The Knowledge is of only one type.

Questioner: Does the effect arise from the charge karma (bhaavkarma)?

Dadashri: Yes, but what is the charge karma based on? It is based on space.

Questioner: Then what is space based on, Dada?

Dadashri: [The eternal element of] Space is not based on anything at all, it is free of support (niradhaar). ‘Space’ is actually its own place indeed; that is Space itself. ‘Space’ means aakash. ‘Space’ is certainly there, but in whichever part of space this one [the developing I] comes, in that part of space, this kind of effect will take place.

The Antahkaran Is Also Based on Space

Questioner: Are the mind, intellect, and chit active because of the presence of the Self?

Dadashri: Yes, all of this is being sustained because of the presence of the Self. It has all arisen due to Its presence, and it is due to that too that it is all being sustained.

Questioner: So none of them are independent?

Dadashri: None of them are independent at all.

Questioner: Now if the mind, intellect, chit, and ego are active because of the presence of the Self, then why don’t they work in the same way for everyone?

Dadashri: That cannot happen, everyone’s space is different, isn’t it! If the space were to be the same for everyone, then it can happen.

The space is different for every living being, that is why everyone sees things differently. Due to that, upon having different bhaav (belief; intent) everyone attracts different parmanu. That is why they acquire different forms.

Space Changes By Changing the Bhaav

Questioner: Every individual has a different experience; how can that be? Why does that happen?

Dadashri: It is because the space is different. There is a difference in the space.

If the space were to be the same, then the bhaav would be the same. So if there is a fetus growing in the mother’s womb, then both would have the same bhaav, as their space is the same. And based on the space, the intent changes. If you go to a certain place, you may get thoughts of violence. If you go to some other place, while interacting with a person, selfish thoughts related to money will arise, or some other thoughts will arise. All kinds of thoughts will change according to the place. So based on the kshetra, the bhaav changes and everything moves forward according to the bhaav.