290
Aptavani-2
Only the penance that comes to you naturally is
worth doing
Penance you learn from others is worthless. Your mind is
subject to so much agitation from morning till night. Real
penance is to suffer the agitation and restlessness of the mind,
speech and body, with serenity. That is true penance! What is
the point of becoming engrossed with your mind, speech and
body in their distressed state and when everything is quiet and
serene, you subject yourself to the ‘heat’ of penance? Of what
use is that penance? When has the Lord said for us to do
penance? It is when everyone brings you poison (problems and
hurt), and despite the ‘heat’ that arises within you, you suffer
with serenity. You suffer calmly even when you become ‘red-
hot’ from within. The Lord has not asked you to invite penance.
He has told you to gladly welcome and suffer the penance that
comes to you naturally. But people push away such penance.
They frown upon it and hence they push it away and by doing
so they increase that penance many fold, and on the other hand,
they go out looking for penance to suffer. And if they cannot find
it, they learn by watching others doing penance. You fools! Is
penance a thing you learn from others? Your penance is different
from his penance. Everyone’s penance is different. Everyone’s
causes are different. In the current era of this time cycle,
penance will come to you naturally and uninvited.
Lord Mahavir has said, “Be cautious in the Kaliyug.
Suffer the penance that unfolds in front of you; do not create
penance that does not come to you naturally.” If someone gets
into an accident with you and you get hurt, suffer that penance
peacefully. Instead people get into a fight and then undergo
fasting. You foolish people! Why must you do this? If your
health is not good, then undergo a little fasting, skipping a meal
or two. There is no problem in doing that because it is a natural
thing to do. That also happens in the animal kingdom, but you
don’t need to resort to other nuisances of looking for penance.