Unique Events in Childhood and Youth of Dadashri

Editor :

Deepak Desai December 2007 Vol. : 3, Issue : 2, Conti. Issue No.: 26

DADAVANI Unique Events in Childhood and Youth of Dadashri

Publisher, Owner & Printed by : Deepak Desai on behalf of Mahavideh Foundation, 5, Mamtapark Soc., Usmanpura, Ahmedabad-380014 Gujarat, India.

EDITORIAL In the land of Gujarat, residing in Bhadran, a town located in District of Anand, November 7th 1907 became very auspicious for the very noble, social and religious family of Shri Muljibhai Patel and his wife Zaverba. One divine Soul was born as a child in this family. Who can predict that secret indication of nature behind the arrival of this divine Soul Ambalal? Param Pujya Dadashri was born in his mother’s hometown Tarasali located near Vadodara-Baroda.

Mother’s noble and high lessons started to develop an exclusive personality in him.

Along with this he had brought forth unique development from his previous sanskar effect of the deeds of past life. With combination of sanskar and virtue, very unique and magnificent personality started to develop and it was obvious. He had an extraordinary insight to evaluate everyday’s life events with totally different angle of vision. Only a rare individual, after evaluating daily life events through his own special way and doing quick internal assessment, would be searching for sat the eternal. He became a big nimit evidentiary instrument for the family and the world at large. We know that this extraordinary new science of ‘Akram Vignan’, a direct path to Self-realization, had manifested within Pujya Dadashri, is so amazing that it has now become a cause for the liberation of many human beings.

Who would not be anxious to know about the childhood life of such a matchless Gnani Purush? In a way we do know about his life events but on this occasion of his centennial birthday celebrations, we cannot stop the inclination of telling his stories again and again by presenting the memorable events. The intent behind this is that by looking at all his ordinary routine events of daily life, through a distinct vision, we come to appreciate and unveil the subtle magnificence of that which lies dormant in us.

Pujya Dadashri used to say that the Gnan, which manifested, is but natural but why did this not happen to anyone else? Why did it manifest in A.M. Patel only? What kind of attributes did he have that made him the highest vehicle to be the source of salvation of the world? What were the special attributes that formed the foundation on which his spiritual development unfolded so loftily into enlightenment? In addition if we study his life events minutely, we can see what kind of qualities he had and from this we can definitely comprehend that he was not an ordinary human being. .... continue on next page Subscription :Yearly Subscription - India: 100 Rupees, USA: 10 Dollars, UK: 7 Pounds 15 Years Subscription - India: 800 Rupees, USA: 100 Dollars, UK: 75 Pounds Printer/Press : Mahavideh Foundation, Basement, Parshvanath Chambers, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad-380014

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At the age of thirteen, he had thoughts about wanting to be an extraordinary person.

He kept evaluating the gist of the life through his own understanding. He beautified the sanskar value systems which were given by his mother and along with this he unfolded the subtle science of ‘buddhi no ashaya - deep seated intent of the intellect expressing in next life’ by giving example of how he attained such a noble mother.

Who would not have to face difficulties in life? One has to suffer the consequences of past life karmas. But in that too he lived his life ideally without divisive differences of opinions and without kashaya: anger-pride-deceit-greed in his worldly interactions due to his special quality of doing inner observation and research. This is evident from his life events.

He used to say that he used to experience this five Agnas from the beginning. His life not completely but to a great degree, was with Agna only and it is evident in certain events, which we have tried to share here.

Full of unique qualities like non-violence, benevolent nature, nobility, absence of any temptations and greed, the art of getting cheated deliberately, universal vision, generosity and non-acquisitive conduct, jovial and yet a learned thinker etc., are all obviously evident in events from his childhood through the stages of whole life, in this extraordinary human being.

The excellent critical thinking and analysis is evident in the following events in childhood like; ‘I have come here with the letter of Lord Rama’, thus the art of releasing mother from the trap of an astrologer; another event when a kanthi necklace snapped: showing the importance of a guru and his belief that the one who gives the light is called a guru; in the third event he had more interest in God rather than learning in school and he found the definition of God from the example of L.C.M. lowest common multiple in Mathematic class; in the fourth event he gained the knowledge of non-doer-ship by playing a game of pens; in the fifth event he failed deliberately in matriculation exam because of not wanting to have any superior over him. Such a one who had an ideal art of worldly interaction so as not to hurt anybody, noticed excellence in everybody, and finally after attaining nirvishesh pad a state devoid of any subatomic particle of self-importance, laid the special gift of Akram Vignan at the feet of the world, and attained the immortal state now known as ‘Dada Bhagwan’.

In this issue of Dadavani, the childhood and youth of the matchless Akram Vignani Param Pujya Dadashri have been compiled in an abridged form and presented from his own divine speech. It is our deep prayer that this universal vision with far insights, tremendous inner depth, and knowledge along with the art of ideal worldly interaction will lead and inspire one to attain the knowledge that leads to an ideal life. ~ Deepak Desai (Please note that ‘S’ for Self, or ‘Y’ for You, refers to the awakened one in Akram Vignan, or the eternal

Self. The ‘s’ for self refers to the worldly self. For a detailed glossary please see: www.dadashri.org/ glossary.html) 2

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Unique Events in Childhood and Youth of Dadashri Did Not Use Merit Karma For Anything Else Questioner: Dada, we often wonder about your childhood. Please tell us about your childhood days.

Dadashri: ‘We—Gnani and the fully enlightened One within’ would not have in memory that this is a Monday or a Tuesday.

This does not arise in memory at all.

Questioner: But you might remember at least some events, would you not?

Dadashri: ‘We’ ‘see’ it all thus.

Everything from childhood to the present is ‘seen’ by us, in all paryaya phases. The moment ‘he—the Gnani’ turns in that direction, all that is in there is ‘seen’, and then ‘we’ speak. We utter that which is suitable. Why would we need to remember all this?

Questioner: So then Dada, please ‘see—joyeeney’ and tell us about your childhood.

Dadashri: One gentleman asked me once, ‘Dadaji, what have you brought (from past life) that everything you get is according to your wish? You are able to do satsang. You are able to practice dharma religion according to your wish, you are able to do everything as per your desire.’ Then I said, ‘that is the deepseated intent of the intellect buddhi no ashaya.

Whatever is the intent of intellect, for example I want it like this, I want that like this and I do not want this. Whatever you want you have brought whole tender (a contract of assignment) in this life from the past life. All your merit karma gets used up in that. I did not spend my merit karma (waste it unnecessarily). I had found only one thing that when I was ‘looking’ for a father and mother and at that time I said I want to have the very best mother.’ Because I knew that if the mother is very good then her December 2007

surroundings would be very good only. And whatever else it may be (in the next life) if the mother is extraordinary, everything will be fine.

So my other merit karma stock was not spent.

I was economical in spending my merit karma (effects).

Got a Noble Mother According To the Intent of the Intellect Our mother Zaverba’s sanskar effects of actions done in the past (life or lives) were very high. The population of our village was seven thousand but I had not seen any woman like my mother. I had thought without partiality that, am I being partial because she is my mother or what? So I had checked it out by other ways too. She is my mother and is that why I am being partial? But indeed, she had very beautiful thoughts. She would kindly invite even the one who had just insulted her. She was very compassionate and had a constant obliging nature. So we still have some sanskar of India. We have become bankrupt in other ways but we have not lost our sanskar—value system of harmonious living.

My Mother Taught me Never to Hit Back One day when I was very young, I came home after a fight with another boy. I had beaten him and he was bleeding. When my mother found out she took me aside and said, “My dear that little boy is bleeding. Suppose someone were to hurt you and you were to bleed, would I not have to nurse you and take care of the bleeding? Would his mother not be nursing his wounds at this moment? And just imagine how much that poor boy must be crying from the pain. So from now on come home taking a beating, but do not ever come home after beating anyone. I will nurse you and take care of you.”

Such was my mother’s nobility. Now tell me, would such a mother not make a Mahavir out 3

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of a son? Such were the noble lessons she had instilled in me.

Practice of Non-Violence Instilled By My Mother My mother was thirty-six years older than me. One day I asked her if the bedbugs in the home bit her also. She replied, “My dear, yes they do. These poor bugs don’t come with containers to carry away extra food with them.

They eat their share and go away.” I said to myself, “Blessed is this mother and blessed also is the son born to such a mother.”

In the days of childhood and youth, I had no repulsion for everything except for bedbugs.

Then investigation revealed, ‘Lots of them bite in sleep, so let them bite in the awakened state.’

So thereafter, I used to let the bedbugs bite me.

I would tell the bug, ‘Now that you are here, eat a full meal and then go.’ My hotel is such that nobody should get hurt here, that is my business. Thus I have even fed bedbugs. Now would a government fine me if I did not feed the bugs? No. Desire To Give Happiness to Others From Childhood Questioner: Dada, what kinds of virtues were instilled in you by the teachings of Zaverba?

Dadashri: I had learned one thing when I was young and that was, whomever I meet, I would tell them, “Since you have met me, you should get some kind of happiness from our meeting, otherwise this meeting was in vain.”

This is what I used to say. It was immaterial to me how undeserving that person may be. But how could I be content if he did not gain something from me? If he did not gain any fragrance from me, how could I be happy with that? Does the incense not give fragrance, even to the undeserving? My principle has always been that you should derive some benefit from meeting me.

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Obliging Nature From The Beginning The market was just around the corner so when I used to go to get some vegetables I would ask the neighbors around if they needed anything and bring for them too, and I used to keep an account of the money. If I just go to buy for me only then it is waste of time so I would ask the neighbors around. When I used to go to post office to drop some letters then also I would ask around if anyone needed to drop or pick up any cards or letters. I had an obliging nature from the beginning.

Sympathy Towards Every Living Being Whenever I came home late in the night, I would make sure that my footsteps did not awaken the sleeping dogs. As it is, they do not have a comfortable place to sleep so the least we can do is let them sleep peacefully.

So whenever I entered the walkway leading to my home, I would carry the shoes in my hand.

“I definitely had this many virtues from the childhood. I was straightforward, had no greed or deceitfulness. My conduct was of a very good level.”

Wonderful Insight in Childhood Due To Development of Past Life Questioner: Dada, please talk about your own development that you had brought from your past lives.

Dadashri: After my birth one astrologist had come to our home, he told my mother, ‘this child is punyashadi (the one with merit karma), for him we need to do some vidhi religious rites.’ My mother melted with such compliments, ‘my son is so great!’ So, when the time came to do the vidhi, she thought, let us get on with the necessary rites and rituals.

She started asking for the expenditure and all that. He was not asking for too much. He was asking for 100 to 150 rupees. But in those days December 2007

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100-150 means, it would be about 1000 rupees of this time. At that time the price for gold was 20.00 rupees. Now as a young boy then, I told her, ‘do not ask him to do the rites and ceremony.’ And my mother had told him so he came back again. Then I told that person, ‘you are coming here but it will be useless. I have come here with the note from Lord Rama, so I will not need you. You have not brought such a note from Lord Rama and I do have it mooah (the one who is dying, special exclamation used

by Dadashri to shake up the listener). Who are you to grant me any guarantee? If you want one, I can give it for you. You are a lalachu an intensely greedy person and I am not lalachu.’ I was not lalachu from my childhood. I never had lalacha whatsoever.

You give me some gold and I would not have use for it.

Noble and Royal Mind From The Childhood Only Even as a child I was very cautious and scared about binding vengeance with anyone because I had bound with many vengeances in the past (lives) and ‘we’ know those experiences. Even if I was not the one at fault, I would admit that mistake as move and mine on further ahead. One should focus on getting to the goal of the task rather than being caught up in a mess. From very beginning I did not protect my mistakes, or the self.

I had an open mind from my childhood.

I used to please everybody. I used to give respect to a maani person with pride, I used to get cheated by a greedy person and I used to let go of the deceit of a deceitful person. I would let him cheat me repeatedly and satisfy him. Nothing will come with us when we leave this world, so why not please the other person and let him have whatever he wants? He, whose mind is regal - noble and charitable, is a king.

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Non-acquisitiveness From The Childhood Only In my childhood we used to enter orchards and farms. And we used to enjoy wood-apple, jujube fruits, mangos and fennel seeds. Everybody would fill up their bags to bring home, but I never used to bring anything back to the home. I used to eat there only, but I would not bring anything home.

They would pack ponkiyu (made out of parched grain of fresh juwar and ghee) in a bag and bring it home but I would not hold that bag in my hand. I would just eat at that place whereas all my friends would bring it home. All were lalachu (easily tempted due to greed). I would eat there and that is it. Who am I, can I take like that? They would invite me to eat the ponk and I would just eat and leave.

Agree that it was an ego, but it was not a mad ego.

What Is Precious, Money or Self?

Once when I was young I had gone to give an examination to the city and everybody in the group decided to rent three horse carriages and go to see a play. In those days the cost of a ticket was one rupee for the play and so when we all reached the ticket counter everyone waited expectantly for someone to buy the tickets. I went in the front. I had fifteen rupees, I could not tolerate this waiting and I bought all the tickets. Then I decided that ‘we’ couldn’t afford this kind of a deal, and instructed within ‘quit watching plays’. I quit watching plays. It is better to do that than wait in a line like a dependent lady waiting for someone to shell out the money. Is money precious to you or your self? One who has thoughts of money is not noble, that is how I was.

You cannot keep the awareness whatsoever, that money will be used up.

Anything that is spent at anytime is correct.

That is why it is said to spend money in religion 5

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so greed lobh can leave and one can give again and again.

Nobility Was There From The Beginning My friend and I had gone to see a circus when I was young and had bought two tickets of lottery for four annas (one anna is equals to six cents) each. They called my name first for the prize and the prize was a bicycle from Japan, which was worth twenty-one rupees and fifty cents. After we came outside my friend said, ‘I want to give a bike to my cousin (mother’s brother’s son), and now you have got it so I do not have to buy a new one.’ So I said, give it to him. His chit was constantly in the bicycle.

‘Our’ nobility (letting the other have his pleasure at all costs to the self) was there from the very childhood, and the Patels do have nobility for sure. Rarely there may be one with the trait of preoccupation with money, like, may be all my money will be used up then what will happen?

So start spending money freely to break such a nature.

One needs a bike if one is not going to die. But when in the end one has to die, why ask for anything?

Opinion Shall Not Change I have not broken opinions, which I had given when I was young. What does it mean?

It means, say for instance if you nurture a plant from the sapling stage and it has grown to a good size. And then if someone asks you to cut it down to make way for a street. Then you will say, ‘all right, cut it down.’ Does this not happen? Then why did you raise it? We are talking about this kind of opinions. Opinion is like a nurtured plant, how can you break it?

You should say make your street by going around the tree. I will not let you cut my tree (opinion) down. This is just that people break opinions nurtured for twenty-five years in an hour.

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The Independent One As A Child Questioner: Dada, please tell us something about your other family members.

Dadashri: Once my father told me that a person should do exercise, one should go for a walk. I said, ‘I do not get time to go for a walk.’ Then he said, ‘you should make some time so you can remain healthy.’ Then I said, ‘I will go.’ Then he said, ‘which direction will you go?’ Then I said, ‘I will go towards outskirts of village.’ He said, ‘No, go to that farm which is nearby.’ I asked, ‘What will I do in that farm?’ He replied, ‘we have planted a mango tree there, take a bag full of dirt from the side of a road and pack it around the tree and come back so it is as good as you have walked and exercise is also done.’ I said, ‘No, I am not that greedy for eating that mango. This is not my business. Whoever wants to eat the mango, he can fill the dirt. This is not my business.’

After some time when he sold that farm, I said, ‘if I had cared for the mango tree then all the labor of packing the dirt repeatedly would all have been wasted, no?’ Then my father said, ‘you must have known secretly that this will happen.’ So I said, ‘believe whatever you want to.’ He replied, ‘your horoscope is very special and high.’

When I was young, I asked for four annas from my father Muljibhai but he would not give it to me. My mother recommended, ‘why are you making this child cry? Please give him.’ Then I said, ‘No mother, I do not want your recommendation. I will take care of myself.’

He Used To Notice Extra Attributes In Everybody I had seen a variety of people from the beginning and I used to note the traits, which made them prominent and stand out. My older brother Manibhai had powerful eyes, brilliant like a tiger and a strong body. Once he had December 2007

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slapped one person such that the man bled for fifteen days. I used to think that he might be a yogi-an ascetic. And he was handsome. And even at the time of death he was appearing the same, very bright and impressive. At the time of death he said that, ‘I am an ascetic from the past life, but I have come here due to the force of some demerit karma.’ And my sister-in-law also used to look like a female ascetic.

He Made Me Identify the Ego Through One Hint My older brother was very egoistic but he had an impressive personality. His personality was so powerful that people would move out of his way the moment they saw him. How powerful he was on those days? His eyes were very commanding and he had an imposing face. Even I feared him. People used to call him an egoistic person and me a wise man. In spite of this he used to tell me, ‘I have never seen an egoistic person like you in the entire state of Gujarat.’

I asked him, ‘why do you call me an egoistic person? Where did you detect my pride?’ He replied, ‘your ego is hidden. I know everything.’

Apparently deep within me the tuber of egoism ahamkar was a heavy one. He used to tell me but I could not believe it. I said, ‘he is the one who is egoistic.’ Then when I investigated this, I felt the weight of the ego within me. I discovered about this deep tuber of ego later on after my brother passed away. It was when that ego troubled me and made me suffer that I realized what my brother was saying about my ego. And then it started bothering me severely. How could I tolerate it? After later that tuber of ego dissolved too. Do you see that? Has it not dissolved? It has been destroyed completely. He is such a man that even God would be subservient to him.

Understood His Own Mistake One time our mare had knocked me down. Afterwards I went home and told my older brother, ‘This mare knocked me down December 2007

and I got hurt.’ He says, ‘This mare is an expensive one, how would she knock you down?

You may not know how to ride and handle her.’ I understood. I accepted my mistake. I did not know how to ride her. The unfortunate one will fall and then he will complain, ‘that mare knocked me down?’ And this mare, who can she go and ask for justice? If you do not know how to ride on a mare then is it your fault or is it a fault of the mare? And a mare will know instantly the time one sits on it that a wild animal has sat on her and doesn’t know how to ride.

Did Not Get Confused By Societal Pressures My sister-in-law was young when my older brother Manibhai died. Whoever came to visit her, would make her cry. I thought that she was rather sensitive and if this went they would kill the poor lady. So I told my mother, ‘You tell the people that they should not talk about your son to this daughter-in-law.’ Why create trouble? Hey, are you like a monkey? A monkey would spread and tease a wound on another monkey and kill it. Are you not doing the same thing by nagging her? So what is the difference between you and a monkey? Are you coming here to make people cry or to make them smile? One should visit another being to give him comfort; in stead you are making her unhappy? But the law of this world is such that the person who gives comfort, is unhappy himself then how can he give comfort? He will give whatever he has, that is why people are miserable today. So we should tell that a person who visits and comforts others to be happy and cheerful or else don’t get into it. Instead he may write a letter of consolation from home.

Why do we need these ghosts here for no reason? These ghosts would come and make her cry.

Did Service Without Any Strain My father’s health was not good. So my 7

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older brother Manibhai says, ‘you stay at work, I will go get information about his health.’ Then he went to Bhadran, and after a little while I had a spontaneous thought that I have assigned the work to everybody, so let me also go and see how he is doing so I left and got in the train. On the way I met Manibhai, he was coming back from Borsad. He asked me, ‘Did you come too?’ I said, ‘yes, a thought arouse within that, let me go too. So I came entrusting work to everybody.’ Then he said to me, ‘so now you go home and I will look after the work.’ I came near the father and he began making preparations to leave this world that very night. Apparently he was waiting for me.

So the one on whose shoulder one has to be carried over on to the funeral pier, has to be there for it to happen.

I took good care of my mother and served her. I was a young man then at the age of twenty. I was able to do at least that much. For my father, all I managed to do was carry his body over my shoulders at his funeral. I realized later on that such was my karma account and that I must have had countless fathers like him in my previous lives. What more could I do then? I found the answer and it was to take care of the elders that were living. Those who have departed are gone forever. Take care of the ones who are living. It is better to start now, although late, than never. It is a great blessing to take care of the living parents. The rewards are immediate. They are next to God. Although you cannot see God, you can see them.

“I never paid attention to anything specific.

I never learned anything new. If I spent time learning anything new, then I would lose that much time away from the Self!

Therefore all new learning was avoided.”

Interest in God Rather Than Learning One has been learning the same thing over and over again for infinite life times. This 8

much was established in my understanding darshan. Ignorance agnan worldly knowledge is not something you study; it comes naturally.

Knowledge gnan liberating knowledge has to be learned. I realized this at the age of thirteen, because I had a very thin veil of ignorance over me even then.

I had a teacher named Somabhai in sixth grade. Somabhai once said, ‘Ambalal, you are having a good time and not studying properly.

Your brother Manibhai is my friend and I will have to inform him.’ I said, ‘Sir, tell you the truth but I am trapped.’ So he says, ‘why do you think you are trapped in these studies? Your brother is contractor, you have money and everything, you are from a good family. You run off to serve the saints. You are not paying attention in studies.’ I said, ‘I have spent fifteen years in learning English language, and this is my mistake. If I had spent this many years to discover a God then I could have found him.’

So he became amazed and stopped talking like that anymore. He knew that there was nothing to say to this young fellow. He began feeling like I was truly trapped in this studying! What the heck! And if one were to stay in England for two years to learn this English language then one would learn it promptly. Keep learning the books for fifteen years like repetitive language learning gee o go, gee o go, Hey you!

The heck with it! Let it go! Yes, if it is a separate line that leads somewhere then it is different thing, but this is just about learning a language. One had to learn the language until matriculation.

Deliberately Failed In High School Once I overheard my father and brother talking secretly. So the brother was saying, ‘One of our relatives, Jethabhai has become a collector subo having attained a degree and connections (British Government) from England.

So let’s make him a collector like Jethabhai.

Manibhai, the brother said, ‘I will spend some December 2007

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more money. But after he finishes his matriculation, let’s send him directly to England, we will keep him there for an extra year and let him return after becoming a collector.’ So I overheard slowly and carefully. I used to have good hearing then. I thought, ‘these people are designing plans for me and trying to mould me for their gains. If I finish High School and then go there and return after becoming a collector, then my father would walk around with the keyf intoxicated ego of ‘my son is a collector’.

I go for education and pass my matriculation.

What would the brother say? My brother is a collector. But where am I in all this? What is in it for me?

I thought that if I were to become a collector then I would be under a commissioner who would boss over me and exercise superiority over me and so I did not want to be a collector. I thought to myself that I have attained this human life with great difficulty and what would be the point of getting someone who bosses over me and orders me around?

When I did not want any material things that grant transient pleasures, why would I put up with someone who would boss me? It may be acceptable to those who desire a materialistic lifestyle, but I was not for it. I would rather run a small paan (beetle leaf) shop than be bossed over under any circumstances. So I decided to fail my matriculation-high school level exams.

So I let it go deliberately.

Questioner: So you planned to fail?

Dadashri: Yes, I did. I planned to fail.

So I am a person who failed his matriculation exam (final year of high school). People ask me about my academic achievement when I use words and statements like: ‘scientific circumstantial evidences’ or “The world is the puzzle itself” or, “There are two view points…” etc. People think I must have been at least a college graduate. I tell them there is not much joy in divulging my qualifications and when they December 2007

insist, I would tell them, “I am a matric-fail person!”

So then after I failed then brother says, ‘you failed, now what will you do? Work very hard again and pass your exam, you have to go to England.’ I said, ‘I will not be able to learn, it is useless.’ Then he said, ‘what will you do?’

I said, ‘I will do whatever is convenient to me.’

He replied, ‘No, you cannot go on a wrong track; it is better to get you involved in the family business. Do this work of contracting.’

I felt that was really good, I can stay independent and if I want to practice meditation, if I want to talk or communicate, I can do satsang, read books. So I can read books and work along with that. And if I practice I can learn immediately.

So I said, ‘Whatever you say I will do it.’ Then he said, ‘Start working in this business.’

I learnt in six months. Then he says, ‘you have become an expert now.’ And even I felt sure in my mind that I was an expert. After then I thought about earning more money. Hey, the business is good so I started that. Then we developed business with more factories and all.

I learned the business very quickly. That is how the days went by.

Later in life I investigated, why I did not study? I had heard about Marichi (one of Lord Mahavir’s name in previous lives) and a similar example occurred in my life. Why did I not study further? When I was young, I was reading a book for learning English, at that time my older brother came and he saw me reading he said, ‘Here, read this book like this’ and he started teaching me. When my father saw this and he said, ‘why did you start teaching him?

He has arrived here after studying everything.’

The hearing of these words, ‘has come here after studying,’ is the reason the further studies ceased.

After leaving the school, my inclination 9

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was leaning more towards those with sharp intellect, but then I realized that this was useless.

Then I started spending more time with those who were simple and did not exercise their intellect much.

At the age of thirteen I had an ego that was unmatched by anyone else in this world.

Along with that I had a corresponding amount of heavy worrying too. My intellect used to become excessively restless and therefore the ego too would become restless.

In the time preceding Gnan— enlightenment in 1958, ego was existent, but it was a wise ego. I was dear to several people.

And there would be at least four cars parked in front of the home (A.M.Patel’s) everyday.

But even then the ego used to gnaw me, ‘if only this ego leaves, I will have the reign of an emperor.’

“Shouldn’t one study what is around him?

Studying—observing with awareness (as opposed to learning) was what I did from the very childhood. I would not take the line which others would take.”

The One Who Would Hold The Light For Me Is A True Guru When I was twelve, my kanthi (a necklace of tiny wooden beads usually given to a disciple by his guru in exchange for loyalty to the guru and his teachings) snapped. My mother suggested that we go and tie another kanthi. I refused and told her, “Although our forefathers may have been following this age-old tradition, I do not believe in it. Just because they jumped in a well, should we all blindly do the same? In those days the well may have been full of water but today I do not see any water. All I see is large stones and snakes at the bottom. I refuse to jump in it.” First we should check to see if there is any water in it before we jump in.

What is the point of jumping in a well and breaking your head?

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I believed that a guru should be someone who would show me the light; he should show me the way. He should be able to guide me spiritually. I did not see any point in undergoing religious rituals of having cold water sprinkled or poured over my head and having someone tie a kanthi around my neck. But I also felt that if a person was worthy of being a true guru, then I would not only let him pour cold water over me, I would let him sever my arms, because I have had arms and limbs for infinite births. In which birth did I not have these? And if otherwise someone came and cut off my arms, would I have a choice in the matter? So why would I not let a guru cut them? If a dacoit were to come along and cut it, do people have a choice? And what if the guru were to cut my throat? No Guru would do such a thing, but if he did, is there any reason why you should not let him?

My mother said to me, “Then everyone will call you ‘nugaro’.” At the time I did not understand what that meant. I thought it was a term people used to tease others. It wasn’t until much later that I realized it meant someone without a guru. So I said to her, “Never mind if they call me nugaro. They will only make fun of me that is all, nothing more.”

Thoughts Sprouted of Becoming An Extraordinary Human Being At the age of thirteen, thoughts of becoming extraordinary had arisen. I had felt that to be ordinary means being like vegetables (grow and die). An extraordinary person is not faced with the difficulties that an ordinary human being faces. An ordinary man cannot help anyone, whereas an extraordinary human being exists only to help others. That is why the world accepts him.

Questioner: What is the definition of an extraordinary human being?

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Dadashri: Extraordinary means that one becomes helpful to everyone; to every living being of this world. When one becomes free, when one transcends the prakruti–the nonSelf complex, one becomes extraordinary.

No Need For Such A Moksha There was one ochre robed ascetic. After school I used to serve him and used to massage his feet. He said, ‘Ambalal, God will take you to moksha.’ I was thirteen then. I replied, ‘Bapji-Father, I do not want that which involves God taking me somewhere.’ Because by then I had understood that if God were to take me moksha then he would offer me a seat there, he would give me a first class seat but then if some other acquaintance were to arrive, he would tell me, ‘get off from here.’ The heck with your moksha! Instead my wife and children are preferable. Keep your moksha with you in your home and sleep alone in it.

So at the age of thirteen this independence had awakened. I did not want any kind of moksha where there was a superior—father boss, over me. If such a moksha did not exist, even then one thing was for sure. I did not want either a superior above me or any subordinate under me. For sure I did not want any subordinates.

I did not want moksha where anyone would ask me to vacate a seat. I wanted moksha where there was no superior above me and no inferior below me. I wanted a path of liberation of the vitarag—fully enlightened Lords. At that time I was not aware that such a thing as the path of the vitarag Lords existed.

All I knew was that I did not want any superior.

I did not want a God that dictates. Such a God can go home, what use would I have for such God? If he is a God, then so am I. It does not matter if he tries to keep me under control for a while but I didn’t want it and for what purpose? For mere gratification of these five senses? What is the use of such gratification?

December 2007

Animals have lalacha temptation with greed, and so do we, so what is the difference between the animals and us?

So since that day I had understood. If they ask you to sit here and then ask you to get up, how can that be called a moksha-liberation?

In moksha there is no underhand, someone below you, and no boss, someone above you This is simple talk, isn’t it? It is easy to understand, is it not? No underhand, no boss.

Moksha means unbound feeling of liberation muktabhaav. There is no superior. And it is exactly like that. I am saying it, as it is. I can ‘see’ from here, now. Not through these eyes, but I can see through the ‘other eyes’.

All these people are ‘yes men—flatterers and bootlickers’. What are they going to lose?

What do they care? It is I who am proclaiming such a big show and I accept full responsibility for it. This is a big responsibility. The one who can scold and curse God, how lofty a state would it be? Yet, despite it all, I don’t know anything in this world. I say that too, don’t I? I don’t have any kind of skill. Even then my relative life goes on smoothly, does it not?

If at all there is an upiri father boss up, how will I tolerate him? That used to bug and bother me at the age of thirteen!

My mother and father are indeed my superior. They gave me birth so I am obligated to them. Secondly, obligation is due to the one who gives me understanding samaj. Otherwise, I reject the obligation of anyone even if he is God himself. What has he given me? Yes, I have accepted God after I received from him.

That other is useless interaction. If we offer them—the God’s idols sweet ladoos, they will not give us anything in return. So then what is use of such interaction? If you ‘give’ something to ‘us’ we give back something in return, do ‘we’ not?

I do not want even God to be my boss.

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I would not be able to tolerate that. Such was the spiritual development I had brought forth with me. My wishes of countless past lives finally came into fruition in this lifetime. That is why this Atmagnan—knowledge of the Self, has manifested. This Gnan is so wonderful that nothing can affect you. I have not done anything in this. This Gnan has blossomed from collective spiritual endeavors of infinite life times. Akram Vignan—step-less path to Selfrealization, is so rare.

You cannot say anything negative to God. I can even scold and say anything to God. To use my words to scold God is dangerous. This is because, God cannot speak. If you imitate what I speak then it is dangerous for you. God remains with me because of my love for God. Only the one who has love for God can speak.

That is why I have said that I will make you fearless. No one is your superior and I am your upiri superior for few days just enough for this initial interaction (pre Gnan). I am like a little child, I do not scold you, do I? I am superior just for the sake of vyavahar—this worldly interaction. However, truly I am not a boss. I am giving you guarantee that really I am not your boss.

“You learn by seeing others, I have never done that. From the very beginning I have always done things contrary to what the worldly people do. Should one follow the dictates of the world loksangnya? I was never dictated by the social norms. I never found happiness in where people believed happiness to be.”

Aim Was Only For Learning About The Soul When I was young I used to ride a Raleigh bike, which I had bought for fifty-two rupees. In those days people would repair their tire punctures themselves. However I was generous and would tell a mechanic to do it 12

for me. People would ask me why I had someone else repair my punctures when they were so easy to repair. I told them I had not come here, to this world to learn everything.

There are so many things in this world and I have not come here to learn all of them. I have come here to learn about the Soul and if I spent time learning about other things then my quest of learning about the Soul will be compromised. Therefore I did not learn anything. I learnt to ride a bicycle but did not learn to mount it the right way. I would rest my foot on the axle of the rear wheel and then mount it. I did not even try to learn the right way. I learnt all I needed to. There was no need to learn other things.

The Wristwatch Became A Source Of Pain I had bought a used wristwatch for fifteen rupees in my childhood. It used to hurt me frequently. If I get late going to school then I used to feel sad. What will I do if teacher will scold me? Once I slept with it on my wrist, and it hurt my ear. So then I said, this has become a source of pain rather than convenience. So since then I decided that I do not need something that bothers me.

Not Wasted Time In Winding A Clock Even winding the clock everyday was bothersome so I bought a clock that required weekly winding. Then one day one of my acquaintances complimented me on the clock so I told him to take it because winding it was a problem for me. So I have never even wound a clock. My nephew, Bhanabhai has been winding the clock for the last fifteen years. I do not even look at the calendar. What do I need a calendar for? Who will tear that? I have not tear off that paper of calendar. I do not have time for all that. When will I devote my time for my spiritual advancement if I waste it on things like winding a clock? Therefore, I have not given time to any thing except for the Soul.

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Considered Radio A Madness

Taste For Good Clothes

A friend told me to get a radio for myself.

A radio!! You expect me to listen to a radio?

If I listen to a radio, then what about my time?

It was tiring enough just listening to the radios of all human beings, so how could I own one?

That is all madness.

I had an affinity for dressing up smartly.

In this regard I was cheated in my steadfast desire for the Soul. You can call it a habit or some attachment I brought with me, but I was fond of dressing up sharply, nothing else. I did not care about what kind of a house I lived in.

Did Not Even Acquire A Phone

Questioner: Did you wear good clothes even at school?

Our business partner once asked me, ‘Shall we get a phone?’ I said, ‘No, why would I acquire an unnecessary burden?’ It will not allow me to sleep peacefully so why acquire such a nuisance! If someone needs me, he will come here. I do not have such needs. People install phones for pleasure or to show off. It is fine for those prestigious people who want to impress others. I am not like them. I am just an ordinary person who prefers to sleep peacefully, sleep in my own independence. So why would I keep the nuisance of the telephone? It would ring and cause a nuisance. I would just throw it out. Occasionally a mosquito may disturb my sleep but that is an unavoidable nuisance, but this is avoidable. How can you afford to have such a nuisance?

Entanglements Perpetuated Due To Entrapment Once I owned a car. The driver would come and tell me that the car had broken down and that it needed certain parts. I had no clue about parts. That is when I realized that it was a trap. I had already fallen into one trap of having a wife and children. A person could start one ‘business’ if he wanted to but he could not start several ‘businesses’, which trapped. How many more traps can you endure overhead?

This is all commonsense. The driver would siphon the petrol and then tell the owner that the car needed more petrol. The owner would not know any better. Why go through such problems? Therefore, I did not keep the car.

December 2007

Dadashri: Yes even at school. No matter where or when, I wore good clothes.

But at the age of seventeen I used to wear warm long coat. It is only for clothes that I used my energies. I even used to instruct the tailor how I wanted the collars on my shirt. I did not spend my energy anywhere else, not even where marriage was concerned.

“I had spent whole my life doing research only, I had done all kinds of research.”

Playful Nature From the Very Childhood I was very arrogant in my childhood and I had a habit of instigating and teasing. My father asked me to go to one Vanik merchant (Sheth) with a letter. I wanted to go and play and my father gave me this responsibility so I could not refuse. So I went with a letter. That master was playing with a dog. It was a tamed dog. I gave him a letter but he would not respond. And I was in hurry. I thought this Sheth is not going to give me any answer. At that time I was young but I will not obey even a respected merchant. The Sheth was pampering a dog lovingly on its face. And a tail of a dog was on the side where I was sitting.

And I figured this Vanik is not going to get up straight way so I pressed the tail of that dog so hard that it barked and bit his hand. Now it is a dog so it does not know who pressed its tail and whom it is biting. Who pressed the tail? I did it and it bites the Sheth. So this Sheth started to beat the dog. Then I thought because of me 17

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this poor dog has to take the beating. So I told Sheth, ‘it is not its fault. His tail came under my foot accidentally.’ ‘Is that so’, he said as he quit being upset with his dog. ‘Yes, ‘I lied.’ I settled the matter by lying in this way. This is how the dogs are, they bite a nimit (an evidentiary instrument) in this manner. Likewise, human beings do the same too. The dog bit that nimit that sheth, apparent evidence. That dog does not know who is biting its tail. Similarly we do not know who broke the teacups and we keep scolding the servant, or we would blame a wife that she made kadhee (soup dish made from yogurt) too salty. Do you see how people blame the wrong person? So all this is like a dog biting the wrong one. People keep biting the wrong person the nimit, like dogs do.

Dispelling the Fear of The God of Death In India, all little children fear Yamraj, the mythological God of Death. I was thirteen years of age I had experienced severe fear hearing about him. I had heard that he walks in leisurely to the home of the one about to die and takes him away. Once this old uncle in our neighborhood looked like he was preparing to die. So people come to see him and I used to sit there to take his care, so one time it was Sunday and I had told everybody that today is Sunday and I will sleep over the night and give him medicine. So everybody went to sleep and I stayed there, I gave medicine to uncle, after 10:00 to 10:30 PM uncle went to sleep. Around 11:00 PM and one dog howled and in a wailing manner. I had heard that when a dog howls then know that he Yamraj, the God of Death has arrived. I had heard about this, so it will affect me, would it not? There is no problem about hearing any gnan knowledge but faith shraddha in this knowledge had set in for me.

I would not have a problem if the faith had not set in. There is no problem if you have heard any kind of knowledge, but if you do not have faith in it, it will not affect you. So for me the faith had been set so I remembered that this 18

dog howled and now Yamraj will take this uncle.

So I could not sleep at all. Uncle was sleeping soundly and I was thinking, he will take now, he will take now. So after very tiring and difficult night I dozed off to sleep. Then all of a sudden I woke up with a start and I found out that uncle was right there and there only. So I learnt, ‘this is all wrong. Jamra (God of Death) has not come, nobody has come, don’t place trust on these people of India, in these matters.

So I investigated and exposed it publicly and have been saying for the past twenty to twenty five years that there was not even an insect called Jamra in this world at all. So get rid of that wrong fear, there is no Jamra Yamraj at all that comes to pick one up at the time of death. There is no existence of Jamra, no one is born like that. This is all false fear.

Get rid of it. Someone said, ‘There were two to four people who came.’ I replied, ‘There is no commotion at time of death.’ They asked, ‘there must be a root cause behind it, no?’ I said, ‘let me tell you the origin of this. There is someone like this Yamraj, but he has been misnamed. His real name is Niyamraj. Niyam is the precise law in operation in this world. It was ‘Niyamraj’ (natural law), but people took ‘Ni’ out and kept ‘Yamraj’ (God of Death).

Niyamraj means death comes as dictated by natural laws, and how big ghastly have they introduced this ghost? Now, people understand that now there is no problem, it is a Niyamraj.

Can you understand this? It is all unnecessary ghosts that have been pushed into the minds of people. I have come here to get rid of all the ghosts of whole world.

An Astute Observer of Nature By Nature I had studied and analyzed by observing critically nirikshan this scenario about the cat when I was young. I used to put a pot of yogurt as a bait and watch it quietly. I did not care whether the yogurt would be wasted but at least I would be able to see and learn from it.

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In the old days, people used to make yogurt in small clay pots. Cats have a habit of drinking milk and yogurt so what do they do?

They stick their heads in the pot to taste the yogurt because they can smell it. They will not leave the pot alone. When no one is around, the cat will force its head inside the pot. It has the strength to force its head in but not to remove it. So then, it walks around with the pot around its head! I have seen such a cat doing this. Bless you cat, people eat yogurt but you ate shrikhand (sweet dish made out of yogurt)!

If one gets a direct experience of this trap, then why would he be foolish enough to fall in it again? Despite getting her head stuck in the pot once, if a cat were to see a pot of milk again, she will forget her previous predicament and do the same thing over again (maya illusion). Then she will regret it but what can anyone do after the fact? Even if she has been trapped once, does she remember she should not repeat the mistake? No, she forgets even when she is punished. What hope is there for animals when even human beings forget?

This body will never become yours. Despite this people say, “This is mine, he is mine, she is mine.” You miserable people, when your body is not your own, how can anyone else be yours?

Have you not seen such a thing? I used to be very mischievous so I would find ways of playing tricks. If I could not then others would teach me. You have to be mischievous in order to play games like this. It was because of my nature that I found such tricks.

“From my childhood onwards if I experienced bitterness in a single thing or event, I would never forget it. This whole sansar worldly life feels constantly bitter.

And yet see, how people cannot forget this worldly life at all!”

December 2007

The Consequences of Becoming Upset And Non-communicative When I was young, I used to become upset and non-communicative (risavu), a little.

Becoming upset and non-communicative (risavu) was a rare event in my childhood.

Even then, I concluded that there is complete loss in it. It is nothing but a business of loss.

Therefore, I had decided never to become upset and non-communicative (risavu) again, no matter what others did. So, I stopped being upset and non-communicative (risavu) at a young age. I felt there was a huge loss in this.

I did become upset and noncommunicative (risavu) one evening when I insisted and acted up and I lost my share of milk for the next morning. So I checked further to see what I had lost during the day and discovered that at the end of the day I gained nothing and on the contrary I lost out. Later everyone in the house tried to appease me by giving me a lot of importance but I lost my morning milk nevertheless.

Was it not obstinacy adai on my part at that time? When I insisted questioning, ‘Why do I get only this much milk?’ Why could I not just let go and drink it? I thought that maybe I will have my way the next time. Do you know what I used to tell my mother? ‘Why do you give me half a cup of milk when you give my sister-in-law half a cup also? Give her less.’ I was happy with what I got, I did not want any more, but I wanted my sister-in-law to have less than me. So what did my mother tell me?

‘Your mother is here; her mother is not, is she?

I have to give her the same otherwise the poor girl will feel bad.’ I was still not be satisfied.

My mother continued to explain things to reason with me; she kept patching up the situation.

However, one day I became obstinate and lost out and so I decided never to do so again.

Generally people would say, ‘Just let him be.’

Would that not happen?

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“Since I was three years old, I had not experienced an insult at all. But from my childhood I had got benefit from other people’s experience. I have not forgotten anything that is beneficial.”

The World is Hollow-Insincere Once a forty-year old man died. He had two older brothers. They let out wails of despair and grief loudly. I wondered where the heart wrenching sound was coming from? The loud crying noise was coming so sadly that I cried right there only. At that time I had really wept openly, and later on when I saw them, they looked quite unaffected and fine. So their crying was false in the end. Since then I had understood that one should enter into this world after much thinking. In fact, these steps are not worth going down into. This world is dangerous.

This is not alaukik beyond this world; this is laukik worldly. All this is just a show people put up to show others. Do they not call this worldly?

So I too got cheated a lot in my childhood.

Women will pull the sari in front of their faces and they will let out a loud wail in grief around a dead person, ‘Oh my dear brother’, so then an inner crying will arise within, for me too, suffering along with the suffering of the surrounding persons. So I felt really hurt and afterwards I found out that it is totally a scam.

When I saw this I realized that was all insincere and fake. Afterwards they told me that it is a laukik worldly way, you did not understand this that you cried? Then I understood that if tears do not come, one is to place some water in the eyes and sit amongst the wailers. Or else people will say, he is stone-hearted. This world is hollow, shallow and without substance and sincerity. But they have made these ways for better and it is not wrong.

I have come in this life having seen all the pol hollowness of this world. This is because 20

I was (past life) a true purush awakened one.

I am not comfortable with such worldly laukik ways. Who would like such worldly ways?

Crying begets crying only. But I realized afterwards that this world is hollow. Is this a real business? What do you think? It is not wrong either; it is laukik. So we have to follow this laukik. Laukik means the way people do worldly interaction with us we should do like that too. Do you like such laukik?

If you beat yourself then (referring to women beating their chest with their fists at the time of death) make your palms hollow so you would not hurt yourself. And people will say, ‘this one did the grieving.’ So such is the vyavahar worldly interaction. These people do cry in grieving of a dead person and beat the chest in the mourning, at that time if we go see then they appear to be pounding their chests so forcefully as if their chest will split, but it will not, these people are very shrewd! People call this laukik, don’t they? In this if someone is weak then he would hurt himself, but in laukik he would find some guru to teach him the next day. So he will not make a mistake again. He would beat up the chest too, it would appear to us like that, but it will not hurt him. Laukik means vyavahar worldly. If everybody is crying then you should also cry, but cry without crying.

One understands all this kind in laukik but does not understand anything in this (spiritual realm).

One cries for real in this. (One takes this world for real).

Even in this vyavahar is in vyavahar and keval absolute is in absolute. Everybody distributed their own shares then there is no fight at all. These quarrels are because of the lack of the appropriate allocated distribution.

People have grabbed onto what does not belong to them. Alas the poor fellows grab and hold on, due to lack of understanding, and the entire worldly suffering is because of that. And furthermore, he has the weight of what he has held onto, and takes more beating because of December 2007

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it. Hey you! This load is not on your head! It all goes on this horse for sure. Yet, he moves about holding it on the head. Such is this world.

This vyavahar is superficial and nischaya the Self is real. Now should one dissolve-neglect that which presents as transient and temporary ooplak? One does not dissolve-discard the surplus amount, no? But in this people have dissolved the surplus amount. They behave this way wherein they have taken this surplus vyavahar the worldly interaction to be realtrue. So one definitely needs to understand this.

Take on someone else’s worry for what?

I had gone out of town and had stayed at the home of one of my acquaintances. There, he informed me that his brother-in-law’s health was bad, that it was rather serious, and that this had bothered him the entire day. He had just returned having seen him and it kept worrying him. I also started worrying about him after listening to this, because his sister was young and I did not have Gnan at that time.

After then it was eleven o’clock at night and while we were talking he started snoring. And I could not sleep the whole night worrying about his brother-in-law. Would the world be like this?

I am awake for his brother-in-law. I am the one who is worrying and he is snoring.

Afterwards I told my self, ‘why did I become so stupid!’ The one whose brother-in-law was sick he went to sleep and I heard about him and it affected me! I am the only stupid one!

Since then I started to recognize that what this world is all about? Afterwards I understood that this world is polumpol deceitful and insincere.

Attained True Understanding of Brahmacharya From my childhood onwards, I had met good persons. I had brought forth such circumstances. There was a seventy-year-old man who was very good looking. I said (inner December 2007

conversation), how has he maintained his good looks? Is there some Gnan or something alike in him? Either a Gnani would be good looking or a brahmachari one abstaining from sexual interaction, would be good looking. Therefore, I said, ‘this Patidar- Patel is unlikely to have any Gnan. So let us check him out.’ (Inner conversation). He was our relative and my age was seventeen years. And Patidar would have a business dhandho interactive sexual relationship, no? So let me investigate that what is the reason behind this? So one day I went to his home. I said, ‘uncle, I will go home and come back.’ He would sit in dela building with large and broad doors. He had a house too and had a sitting room. This dela appeared new and well maintained, two hundred to three hundred feet separate and away from the house. Then he asked me to sit with him and ordered a cup of tea and told me I will have a cup of tea and you can have some too, I liked that. I wanted to talk to him in any way. I asked him, ‘uncle, where do you sleep?’ He said, ‘I sleep right here in the dela.’ I asked, ‘for how many years?’ then he replied, ‘I sleep here since I got married.’ I was startled. Then I dug deeper. I told him, uncle, I am interested in this! Please tell me more. I asked, ‘does the kaki his wife come here sometime?’ He replied, she is called here twice in a month.’ I thought within, this is the glitter? This is the reason for the aura and light on his face all about. Where did he bring it from? And that too is befitting a Patidar a certain high state in a village community? Then I asked him, ‘what do you do?’ He said, ‘I have never slept in one bed.

If two people sleep in one bed then both have become women. And that is called being beset with sanga attachment due to company and I have not become attached.’ Bravo Uncle! At this age! I became stiff with alertness. Since then I was infected with that. Then I understood the meaning of a separate bed. And nowadays the father says to the son, ‘go, get the doublebed, let it cost three hundred dollars.’ To the 21

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point that the son too believes that the father was in a double bed and the grandfather too was in a double bed, with all its consequences.

So Mooah ! (Dadashri’s terminology for the one who is dying by the second), your grandfather did not have such double bed! I should not speak like this yet see I am speaking!

One should not speak thus.

It is from having stumbled over and over again life after life, that this Gnan and inner clarity sooj has arisen. Clarity arises after one stumbles and falls. That inner clarity sooj has always been helpful to me.

The Negative Will Lead to The Positive A question arose within me in 1928 when I had gone to watch a movie, ‘my goodness!

What will these movies do to our culture? What will become of all these people?’ Then another thought came to mind, ‘Do we have any solutions for such thoughts? Do we have any control over it? These thoughts are useless because we do not have any control over them.

Such thoughts are beneficial only if we can do anything about them. To be preoccupied with thoughts that are beyond our control is nothing but egoism.’ Then another thought came to me, ‘Is this the path that India is heading towards?’

I did not have Gnan in those days. Gnan happened in 1958, so prior to that there was ignorance only. No one had taken away the ignorance. There was no Gnan but ignorance was there for sure. However, even in ignorance I could see, ‘that which can destroy something very fast can also do the good with the same momentum. So for the purpose of positive influence, this is the best medium’ I had thought about all this very thoroughly at that time but after I attained Gnan in 1958, no more thoughts have arisen in this matter. (This vision of Dadashri has become a reality today. It is through such media that Akram Vignan the science of the Gnani Purush has reached individual homes all over the world).

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Setting Focused Awareness Instead of Waiting Once at the age of twenty-two, I missed my bus by a minute. It was at Haalol bus station. Actually I had come to the bus station an hour earlier, but I got delayed at a restaurant and missed the bus by a minute. This situation was one of turmoil. It would have been understandable if I were late in reaching the bus station in the first place; I would have accepted the fact that I was late and would not have been so annoyed. But here I had come an hour early and yet missed the bus and had to wait an hour and a half for the next one.

Now let me tell you what state I was in when I had to wait for an hour and half. What a thought struggle was going on within. An ordinary person, for example would have, say fifty thought struggles going on within him whereas I would have a hundred thousand. You can imagine the suffering. I never liked waiting, even if someone were to offer a comfortable seat during the wait. That hour and a half seemed like twenty hours. That is when I realized that waiting for someone or something is the greatest foolishness in this world. So from the age of twenty-two I stopped waiting for anything. And if in case I had to wait I would engage my mind in something. There are times when you have no choice but to wait. I saw a great opportunity in such a situation. Instead of idling away the time worrying about the arrival of the next bus, I made some internal adjustments. Then I was at peace. Can some adjustments not be made?

An adjustment of any kind! I will tell you what I did. I would read Krupadudev’s writing or some other saint’s. I would not recite it but I would read it within. To recite it is to repeat from memory. Instead I would read those words within.

Questioner: How did you do that Dada?

How could you read without a book?

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Dadashri: I would read without the book.

I would visualize the written form: ‘Dear Lord’ and then I would read it. Recalling and memorizing involves the mind, whereas reciting is mechanical and frees the minds. When the mind is free, it wanders. ‘Dear Lord’, ‘Dear Lord’ ‘it’ keeps saying this mechanically and the mind becomes free to wander out. The nature of the mind is such that it memorizes what you feed it frequently and thereafter it becomes mechanical. In all this I had adopted the technique of visualizing each and every word, ‘Dear merciful Supreme Lord, what can I do? I am full of infinite faults.’

I would see each and every word including the comas, exclamation marks and the capital letters. Krupadudev had shown another technique that speak and read from bottom to top. Then people got practice for this too, formed a habit. The nature of the mind is such that wherever you occupy it forms habit and memorizes. And in reading this way you cannot memorize, it should be visualized. Reading this way is my greatest discovery. Later on I taught all these here to do the same.

Questioner: But Dada, did you have this ability at age twenty-two?

Dadashri: Yes. I had the ability at that age.

Internal Insight Flourished During Inner Struggle It is out of such internal struggles and entanglements that this knowledge arose. If it was not for that incident of entanglement for an hour and a half…

Questioner: If you had not missed that minute…

Dadashri: This knowledge came about as a consequence of missing that minute. After what happened at the age of twenty-two, I have never waited for anything. If a train is December 2007

late for three and a half hours, I would not pass my time unnecessarily doing this or that, I would remain in the awareness of the Self.

Tricked An Outlaw I had met once with outlaws in my whole life. Then we tricked them and escaped. I had to go for a certain work when I was twentytwo years old. We had to catch 5:00 o’clock train from Vishvamitri station. We did not have much money but we had to carry a thousand rupees with us to work. In those days a thousand rupees is like twenty thousand rupees today. I had a servant with me. He says, ‘let’s have a little breakfast and then we will leave.’

So we went for the breakfast. In the process we were late and as our horse buggy reached the railway station, we saw the train leaving.

Now if we returned home, I was afraid of my older brother who had asked me to get the work done. He was twenty years older than me so I was very afraid of his temper. I said, ‘we have landed in trouble.’ Afterwards I told that other fellow, ‘hey, will we go by walking?

It is eleven miles far from here.’ He said, ‘yes, no problem, but what about this money that we have with us?’ I said, ‘I will take care of it but will you walk?’ Then he said, ‘yes, I will walk.’

From there we walked eight miles, and one village called Padra arrived. We had a snack and tea. I knew that around here some cunning outlaws by ten, eleven or twelve would not stay without getting together. So we kept on walking on the railway lines. There an area of thorny plant bushes arrived, in the vicinity of a pond. The town in which we had to stay in Rest House, that place arrived. From there Rest House was fifteen minutes away. People had told us that outlaws sit there amidst the clump of those thorny bushes. When we reached there, I understood, I had a hint that all these have been sitting there. So I got off the railway line and walked down through the slope and went towards them. That servant also followed me.

I did not keep money with me, I had given him 23

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to tie it in his underwear. I went and sat with that outlaw. Those outlaws had tied bukaani piece of cloth so tied as to partially cover the face, so you cannot identify the face and it was pitchy dark. You can see just a little in the light due to stars. So an outlaw asked, ‘where did you come from?’ I said then, ‘brother, we did not have money for the train ticket, so we came by walking.’ Then I added, ‘I met this man, so I said let’s go together and smoke a bidi hand rolled tobacco leaf village cigarette at ease.

And here we are afraid of outlaws, and we were nervous, until we saw you. Now we can be at ease. It is good that we ran into you.’

Then that outlaw said gruffly, ‘get up from here and get lost. Don’t try to be over-wise and smart!’

So I understood that these people gave us the pass. So we went to Rest House by walking. Then a watchman at the Rest House asks us, ‘where did you come from, Sir?’ I said, ‘From this way.’ He said, ‘From which train at this time?’ I said, ‘Not by train, we came by walking.’ Then he said, ‘Did you not meet anyone at that area near thorny bushes?

They just left from here.’ I said, ‘we met them and when they gave us a pass that is how we came here.’ Then he says, ‘did they do anything to you? They did not beat you, did they?’ I said, ‘no, they did not beat us and they gave the pass. They did use some insulting words like ‘get lost from here’.’ They thought that we were a burden to them.! I knew that if we play a little bit then they would let us go. So we have to act. And this world is a play, isn’t it!

I became this person’s son-in-law, is it not a play? Would any one be a real son-in-law?

I would know all kind of tricks! Money was stuck in his underwear, and his clothes were little bad and my clothes were impeccable and ironed! So if they shake off then they would shake the money off from me! Then I would tell them off that, ‘brother, take it, and whatever it is take it from this coat pocket.’ I had kept 24

some change in the coat, about of ten to twenty rupees. Yes, otherwise they would not get anything for their trouble, would they? I would have willingly given that money on demand.

But that other money would remain safe in his loin underwear.

Choosing Neighbors For Harmony Initially we used to live in a colony of mostly Patels. My elder brother, used to interact with them and liked living amongst them, but I disliked the interaction with them. I was young and only twenty-two years old then. Let me give you an example. Whenever I went to Bombay I would bring back some halva thin layers of wafers of square chewy sweets with nuts, with me. My sister-in-law would send some to the neighbors. She had done this a few times. Once I forgot to buy the sweets. Now whichever neighbor she met would pester her, ‘Did he not bring any sweet this time?’ So I started to question how this problem came about in the first place: ‘We never used to have this problem before! Before nobody used to insult me if I did not bring back anything. So it was a mistake to bring anything in the first place. I brought it twice and when I forgot the third time, I had problems. So it is not worth having worldly interactions with these people.’

I had instructed my family that if anyone were to come to our home asking for something, they should give it and if they returned whatever they took, that was fine but the family members were never to ask them to return it. Even if they had to give a hundred times over, they should still not ask for it to be returned. If that person returned what he had borrowed, they should accept it. The worldly interactions of the Vaniks are beautiful, they will never complain whether you send them a large piece of halva one time and a half the next time. And even if you do not send anything, they will never complain. I could afford to interact with such people. How can you interact with anyone who complains and grumbles?

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Do you know how Kshatriyas—those who would fight and defend—deal with people?

They will lay down their lives for others but they will also expect the same from them in return. They will not hesitate to give their own life or take someone else’s. They are big speculators in business and their dealings are extravagant in all aspects of life. I could not afford this ‘I-will-give-you-my-head-but-I-willalso-takeoff- yours’ mentality. I did not want anyone’s head and what if he was to come for mine? I wanted no part of any such transactions and that is why I decided that it was best to live with the Vaniks. If we put some value of Vaniks in Kshatriya and some value of Kshatriya in to Vanik—the trading class and after that whatever mixture occurs that would be very beautiful. Then it would become sour-sweet, no! And then that shrikhand becomes tasty.

Someone asked me if I knew why Ravan lost his empire. I asked him, ‘Why did he lose his empire? Why don’t you tell me?’ He proceeded, ‘Ravan would not have lost his empire if he had a Vanik as his advisor.’ I asked him in what way and he said that when Narad told Ravan about Sita and her exquisite beauty and charm, Ravan became very tempted and made up his mind that one way or another he was going to have her. Now if Ravan had a Vanik as his advisor, he would have said, ‘Sir, be patient a little longer because I have seen another, even more beautiful woman.’ This way he would have been successful in diverting Ravan from that critical moment which led to his demise. If a person is diverted at the most critical of moments, he will live to be one hundred. This is what the man told me. I told him there was a lot of wisdom in what he said and that we definitely need to be guided during such critical moments. That is why I chose to live between two vaniks for forty years.

Found God Learning Laghuttam Questioner: You were saying that, ‘Five December 2007

Agnas have been natural to me, natural part of my state, from the very beginning.’ We would like to know about your experiences of this.

Dadashri: When I was young, a teacher in the Gujarati School told us to learn laghuttam, smaller than the smallest. So I asked him, ‘What do you mean by laghuttam? How can something be laghuttam?’ He replied, ‘You have to find the smallest indivisible number, a number that cannot be divided further, from the numbers I have given you.’ At that age, do you know what term I used for individuals? I used to say, ‘this ‘number’ rakam is no good.’

Therefore, this subject suited me. I used the same terminology. So then it occurred to me, ‘it is the same in these ‘numbers’ (humans) too, is it not?’ I thought to myself, is it not the same in these ‘numbers’ too? God dwells in everyone in an indivisible form.

From that moment onwards, my nature began to lean towards laghuttam. It did not become laghuttam but it began to lean towards laghuttam and then eventually it became laghuttam. Now “by relative view point I am completely laghuttam and by real view point I am completely guruttam heavier-higher than the highest.” Therefore, in matters concerning worldly dealings, I am laghuttam. So, I was able to adopt this theory of laghuttam right from the beginning.

‘Who is the Doer?’ Even while Playing We used to play with pens (writing pen for the slate) when I was young. We would have peaces of the pens and we would toss them in a tin box. Everyone would aim to throw in that can. So out of seven, three to four will drop and bounce outside of the can. And I would just throw without aiming and four to five pens will drop in a can. So I would think that, if I was the doer then not a single pen of mine would land in the can, because I did not know how to aim. And those others would throw with intention to drop in a can and yet it will not 25

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land in the can. So everything is like this.

Vyavasthit – scientific circumstantial evidence.

Settled With Equanimity By Making Everybody Happy It used to happen to me that if I were to visit my friend’s house and if he had a guest in the house then he would force me to have a meal with them. I would say that my health is not good and I will have it next time but if he insisted then I would eat a little and eat a little at other friend’s house too. And if I do not eat at home then Baa (Dadashri’s mother) would say, ‘you are not eating with me.’ So I would eat with Baa also.

Questioner: If you say ‘no’ to Baa, then will it not work?

Dadashri: No, If I do not eat with Baa then she would get hurt. That is why I would eat little little at different people’s home and I would eat little at home too. I had done

experiment from the childhood. I used to eat three times a day but sometime I had to take lunch three times, but I used to make everybody happy. I used to keep my friend also happy. I used to keep happy that other friend also and Baa too. No one would be doing thus like me.

I have to keep everybody happy. Because he would have a guest once in a while and he would get hurt. For me it is ‘you are correct, you are correct and you are correct.’ Everybody is correct.

I had a habit from the childhood that if someone were to talk to me about gnanknowledge then I would take it into vignan science, my nature was that of a scientist from the childhood only. Scientist means if I found an original word then I would take it to extreme lengths forward. The talk may be about knowledge, but I would discover something unique in it.

~Jai Sat Chit Anand

Grand and awe-inspiring Centennial Birthday Celebration of the Gnani Purush Dadashri It is said for Kashmir that ‘if there is a heaven on the earth then it is right here only.’ Similarly every person entering into Simandhar City, Adalaj (Dist.-Gandhinagar, Gujarat) experienced Mahavideh Kshetra in this Bharat Kshetra. A grand ceremony for the centennial birthday celebration from 17 to 25 November 2007 took place at Dadanagar, a huge complex near Simandhar City, specially constructed for this event. The ocean of bliss was experienced in the heart of each and every mahatma of Dada Bhagwan family. That bliss is vacillating even today in everybody’s heart.

The same prayer was humming constantly in the heart of every mahatma that, ‘may the whole world attain the bliss that I have attained’, on this occasion of centennial birthday celebration of such a matchless, unique and unparalleled Akram Vignani Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, the one “was never around, and will never come again”. Everyone here has ardent desire for every spiritual devotee who comes here to progress in the path of ultimate liberation after attaining this Akram Vignan, and that desire is being fulfilled to a significant extent. About one hundred thousand mahatmas and spiritual aspirants attended this celebration.

By using modern technology in this modern age, specially constructed theme park which included various exhibits like ‘who is the Doer?’, ‘Bhaav Vignan – Science of inner intent’, ‘Dharma no Marma – Real meaning of religion’, ‘Kram (step-by-step path to liberation) – Akram (step-less path to liberation)’, ‘documentary films showing biography of Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan and Pujya Niruma’, ‘photo gallery’ and ‘maze’ had become the center of 26

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attraction for all mahatmas and spiritual devotees. Children had the opportunity to learn the message of Dadashri’s Gnan, ethical and cultural values through various games, puppet show, exhibition, animation show, amphitheater, etc.; in children’s park.

On 17th November, Pujya Deepakbhai had commenced the grand celebration by kindling the lamp at 5:30 PM. On this occasion, the whole atmosphere had become so beautiful and divine after releasing lots of colorful balloons in the sky. Pujya Deepakbhai and all mahatmas had sung a new anthem expressing strong desire of Dada for the world salvation by waving various colorful flags. Followed by this about hundred and fifty children had performed different dances.

Children had presented performance in such a beautiful way carrying lamps in their hands and had made a figure of Om and the logo of Dada Bhagwan family. Pujya Deepakbhai had talked on relevant topics of Dadashri’s wonderful Akram Vignan.

Thousands of mahatmas and devotees from India and all around the world had come to partake in this celebration from day one. The actual spiritual retreat was supposed to start from 21st November, but considering the big rush of mahatmas Pujya Deepakbhai, started satsang on 18th November and all mahatmas were very much delighted.

Since three to four months preparations for this program were going on day and night and about two thousand volunteers had taken part to help in this. Everyone was extremely amazed looking at theme park, children’s park, huge satsang hall, tents for accommodation, vast tents for meal, food court, varieties of stalls, computerized registration counter, hospital facilities etc., located in 10 lakh square feet area in Dada Nagar. And mahatmas felt as if they were in the moksha state right here on earth, as a result of the spiritual energy that was generated by such a vast gathering.

Every night different cultural programs were scheduled and in this program children from Simandhar City as well as many villages and cities had taken part. Varieties of dances, play, garba, dayaro-folk songs, parade performed by senior citizens, all these programs were admired by spectators.

The centennial birthday of Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan was celebrated on 23rd November.

Pujya Deepakbhai had done the pujan of Dadashri and recited the ceremony for the salvation of the world. Respected Pujya Atmanandji was also present on this holy occasion. After this thousands of mahatmas from all around the world worshipped Dadashri and had asked for the energies to eradicate their weaknesses, and thus made a strong inner intent to attain the absolute enlightenment. Everyone had opportunity to do the darshan of Pujya Deepakbhai in person.

More than 7000 spiritual aspirants attained Atmagnan in Gnan Vidhi on November 24th.

The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendrabhai Modi had visited for special darshan. Pujya Deepakbhai said that this nation needs pure leaders went on to define the levels of purity in a national leader that is a prerequisite for meaningful welfare of all human beings. Shri Modi eloquently expressed his compliments for Pujya Deepakbhai and his mission.

Next year, on this very same place, 101st janma jayanti of Highly revered Dadashri will be celebrated with even more splendor. This grand celebration was concluded on 25th November. ~ Jai Sat Chit Anand December 2007

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Special Events in the presence of Atmagnani Pujya Deepakbhai Pranpratistha of small idols of Lord Shri Simandhar Swami December 29, 2007 (Saturday), Time: 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Note: Mahatmas who have the idols of Shri Simandhar Swami for their homes-offices and need to do the Pran Pratishtha, should bring the idol along with them. Contact: (079) 39830400

Gnanvidhi (A Scientific Experiment on Self-realization) December 30, 2007 (Sunday) Time: 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm Venue: Trimandir, Adalaj, Ahmedabad-Kalol Highway, Dist: Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Special Bhakti on the occasion of ‘Dada Darshan’ Pran Pratishtha Day and New Year’s Eve December 31, 2007 (Monday) 7:30 am to 9:30 am - Dada Darshan (Ahmedabad) – Pujan-Darshan-Bhakti.

10:00 pm to 12:00 mid night – Trimandir, Adalaj.

On the occasion of Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan’s Punyatithi January 2, 2008 (Wednesday) 10:00 am to 12:00 Noon - Special Bhakti and 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm - Satsang

Spiritual Retreat at Indore (In Hindi) January 24 to January 27, 2008, Time: 10:00 am to 12:30 pm, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm (January 26, 2008, Gnanvidhi – A Scientific Experiment on Self-realization in the evening) Venue: Basket Ball Complex, Race Course Road, Indore. Phone: 9893278866

Watch Pujya Dr. Niruma on T.V. Channels Doordarshan (National), Mon-Fri 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM (In Hindi) Watch same prog. at same time, In Tamilnadu, Kerala & A.P. in Regional languages.

Doordarshan DD-1, Everyday 3:30 PM to 4 PM (In Gujarat, in Gujarati) Watch same prog. at same time, outside Gujarat on DD-Gujarati 'Aastha' International, Mon-Fri 12:30 to 1 PM (In Gujarati) All over the World (except India) on 'Sony TV' Mon-Fri 7 to 7:30 AM (In Hindi) All over the World (except India) on 'Aastha' International Mon-Fri 8 to 8:30 AM GMT U.S.A. : 'TV Asia' Everyday 7 to 7:30 AM EST (In Gujarati) ' TV 39 (NJ)' Mon-Fri 6 to 7 PM & Sat 6 to 6:30 PM (In Gujarati) Canada: 'ATN' Every Wed-Thu 8:30 to 9:00 AM EST

India :

Watch Pujya Deepakbhai Desai on T.V. Channels Zee Gujarati, Everyday 7 AM to 7:30 AM (In Gujarati) DD-Gujarati Everyday, 9 to 9:30 PM 'Gnan Prakash' 'Aastha' International, Mon-Fri 4 to 4:30 AM, Sat-Sun 2 to 2:30 PM U.K. : 'MA TV', Everyday 5 to 5:30 PM GMT (In Gujarati) All over the World (except India) on 'Aastha' International - Mon-Fri 11:30 PM to 12 PM, Sat-Sun 8 to 8:30 AM

India :

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