Aptavani-8 by Dada Bhagwan (beginner reading books for adults .txt) 📕

The Gnani does not just give you the knowledge of the Atma, but he also gives you answers to all the complexities of the universe. If an obstacle arises in your attaining Self-realization, you can break it with a strong resolution: ‘I want to get this Gnan from the Gnani’, or it can also be broken with a request to the Gnani, ‘Please destroy my obstacle’. Otherwise, anyone who desires Self-realization will not come across any kind of adversity. One faces adversity because of one’s own weakness. How could there be any adversity, when you are going to your own home?

If you want to experience the Atma on your own, then if someone picks your pocket or shouts obscenities at you, or even beats you, you should say to yourself, ‘This is the result of my own karma, the other person is just instrumental (a nimit), he is freeing me from my karma’. By doing this, you will perceive him as nirdosh (innocent), and moreover, it will allow you to bless him. And if it stays this way all the time, you will attain Self-realization for sure. But people are spineless when it comes to looking at things this way; therefore, if just once, one goes to the Gnani to awaken the Atma, the Atma, even in dreams, can never be forgotten.

How does the salvation of the Atma happen? The salvation of the original Atma has already happened. It is just the relative self that needs salvation. How is that done? When the understanding sets in that, ‘My real nature (swaroop) is Absolute Knowledge (Keval Gnan), Absolute Vision (Keval Darshan), and Absolute Conduct (Keval Charitra)’, even then it will occur. And who but the Gnani Purush can fit (provide) us with this?

The Atma is the subtlest (sookshmatam), and the regions (pradesho) around it, is subtler (sookshmatar). But because speech is not subtler, it cannot describe the region; it halts. There, only experience can resolve this.

How can you find the real Atma, when you are looking for it through the vision of the perceived atma? How can you see what lies beyond the senses, when you see through the eyes of the senses themselves? You need a Gnani Purush, in the middle, who can change your vision so that you can see! The senses themselves will not turn inwards; you cannot fence them in! The Gnani will put you in the same state that he himself has attained. Once you meet the Gnani, it is worth asking him for moksha (liberation).

The spiritual science of Akram Vignan that has manifested through the revered Dadashri; steers you away from the illusory path and makes you fully achieve the path to final liberation (moksha). That is to say, that it is a complete full stop path, and not a comma. Akram Vignan says that if the worldly life (sansar) were an obstacle towards final liberation, it would not allow anyone to go to the final liberation! Because of Akram Vignan, today the final liberation can be very easily attained. For that, you must present yourself to theAkram Gnani, with the highest humility (param vinaya), the inner intent of ‘I do not know anything’; and the deep desire ( bhavna) of ‘How do I attain this?’ This itself, will make it attainable.

No other forms of eligibility are taken into consideration in this age, and besides, there is no such eligibility anyway! The fact that you have reached the Akram Gnani itself proves your eligibility.

Gnani Purush , the most revered Dadashri has not been able to keep his bhavna (deep inner intent) a secret. So with words filled with compassion, he expresses this desire: My idea is that the message of this vignan (science), reaches every corner of the world, and that peace should prevail everywhere. My inner intent (bhavna), my wish or desire, call it what you may; is just this!

- Dr. Niruben Amin

Special note to the reader

l To facilitate reading and comprehension, the reader is asked to familiarize himself with some changes to key words. Capitalized words and lowercase words are used to denote two different states of being. Here are some examples:

l The word Self, with ‘S’, refers to the awakened Self or Soul, which is separate from the worldly soul (non awakened self), written with ‘s’. The term Shuddhatma (pure Soul) is used for the awakened Self, after the Gnan Vidhi given by the Gnani Purush.

Similarly, any word in the middle of a sentence, with an initial capital or words in inverted commas, e.g. ‘You’, ‘Your’, at the beginning of a sentence, refers to the awakened Self or Pragnya. This is an important distinction for the correct understanding of the difference between the awakened Self or the Self and the non-awakened self or the worldly self.

l Wherever the name ‘Chandubhai’ is mentioned, the reader should substitute it with his or her name.

l Dadashri uses the term ‘We’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ - meaning the Gnani Purush.

l We welcome your comments, suggestions, corrections and any constructive criticism of this translation so future editions can be improved. Please e-mail them to: [email protected]

Aptavani - 8

Part : One

What Is the Atma? What Must It Be Like?

What Is the Atma?

Questioner: What is the Atma (Soul)?

Dadashri: The Atma means life energy (chetan).

Questioner: So does life energy (chetan) mean Atma and Atma means life energy (chetan)?

Dadashri: No. Atma is just a word, and even chetan is just a word, but we have to use these words for people to recognize them. Otherwise it is beyond words. Does one not have to point them out? Or else you would not even recognize them. How else could you recognize them? Is that not why people say, ‘go look for your Atma?! The Atma means the Self. To know, ‘Who you are’ is called Atma (Self). And it is that Self which you need to recognize. When the wrong belief (of ‘I am Chandubhai’) goes away and the right belief (‘I am the Self’) is established, this will be resolved. How else would this come about?

What Could the Atma Be?

Dadashri: Is the Atma an element (vastu), or is it non-element (avastu)?

Questioner: Avastu .

Dadashri: And what you see, is it element (vastu) or non-element (avastu)?

Questioner: The Atma is not visible, so it is non-matter (avastu); but matter or element (vastu) is visible, is it not?

Dadashri: No. Let me explain vastu and avastu to you. Anything that is eternal (avinashi) is called a real element (vastu), and anything that is destructible and transient (vinashi) is called a non-element (avastu). The Atma is in the form of Atma. The Atma in the form of a real element (vastu) isthe abode ofinfiniteproperties(guna)!Eachreal element(vastu) has its own matter (dravya), property (guna), and phases (paryaya). Anything that has matter-property-phase ( dravya-guna-paryaya) is considered an eternal element (vastu). Vastu can be called eternal.

Even Atma itself is an eternal element (vastu): it has its own matter (dravya), its own properties (guna) and its own phases ( paryaya). And those phases come with origin (utpaad), a steady state (dhruva) and an end (vyaya). And all that is visible to the eyes is not an eternal element (avastu), and is destructible (vinashi). And the Atma (the Self) is eternal (avinashi); an eternal element (vastu).

There are six such elements (tattva), and the world is made up of these six elements. These six eternal elements are constantly interacting with one another and undergoing changes that give rise to circumstances and states of things (avastha). It is through these circumstances that we see this world. Only the circumstances are visible in this world.

Know the Atma from the Gnani

So if there is anything worth knowing in this world, then it is the Atma – the Self. And there may be only one or two people in this world who know the Atma. So no one can know the Atma. People can know everything, but they cannot know the Atma! And he who knows the Atma; will not take long to attain Keval Gnan (Absolute Knowledge).

Now, if a person comes to know that Atma from the Gnani Purush, he will attain the Atma; otherwise, it is not possible to attain the Atma in any time period. The Gnani Purush has seen, known and experienced the Atma, and himself lives in the Atma’s own natural state (swaroop)! So if you yourself know the Atma through such a

Text: Dada Bhagwan Aradhana Trust
Images: Dada Bhagwan Aradhana Trust
Publication Date: 07-07-2017

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