Aptavani-2 Aptavani-02 | Page 349

300 Aptavani-2 Dadashri : If a person renounces eating garlic and onion, but finds a piece of onion on his plate, he will go berserk and start yelling. Some even feel repulsed merely at the sight of an onion, so what is their status? Do you call that equanimity? Questioner : No, that is agitation. Dadashri : Agitation is the result of such renunciation. Instead it would have been better not to renounce anything at all. The Lord says if a piece of potato ends up in a renunciant’s plate by mistake, does it cause him any harm? Besides, everything that gets consumed is a ‘potato’! Lack of awareness is the reason why such divisions have been made by the intellect. If a piece of a potato or an onion falls in the plate by mistake, that situation has to be simply resolved; should one not be capable of doing at least this much? Equanimity should never be departed from. If equanimity is maintained in renunciation, it can take one to moksha. Is renunciation done for the purpose of increasing equanimity or increasing agitation? Renunciation is to increase equanimity and if one is not able to maintain equanimity in renunciation, then that renunciation is useless. So first attain the correct understanding from the Gnani and then renounce, but not otherwise. This is a very large ‘hospital’; if you want to remain in the worldly life, you are free to do whatever you want to but if you want liberation, you will have to consult the Gnani. Even the vitarag Lords have never scolded anyone. They were so supremely wise; they were never contrary. Their disciples may deceive them, but they would never reprimand the disciples. That is our goal too, is it not? This has fallen upon ‘us’ as ‘our’ lot; the twenty-four Tirthankaras have left their ‘goods’ and have said, ‘Dada’ is going to manifest, go to ‘Dada’, and hence this has become ‘our’ task. ‘Our’ scolding is purely out of compassion, ‘Our’ nature is vitarag. But the remedy has to fit the disease; as is the disease so has to be the remedy. Whatever the ‘disease’ that presents before ‘us’, the speech that comes forth is a befitting cure; this speech