402
Aptavani-2
Pratikraman has to be done for all inappropriate worldly
interaction.
Questioner : Dada, we are Jains and therefore we know
about samayik (introspective meditation) and pratikraman, but
we are not able to do them, why is that?
Dadashri : In this world, everything that can be followed
or carried out is knowledge (gnan) and that which cannot be
followed or carried out is ignorance (agnan). When you say,
“We understand samayik but we are not able to do it,” to this
the Lord says, “You are ridiculing me.” If a bottle of poison is
sitting next to another bottle but you do not have knowledge of
this, you are likely to take the bottle of poison. But here you
have the knowledge and still you are not doing it. That is an
excuse; you are claiming ignorance as knowledge. It is ignorance
that you call knowledge. No one would jump into a well on
purpose. The result of knowing is to stop (virati). If a child asks
you, “What is poison?” You tell him, “A person can die if he
drinks it.” Then the child will ask, “What is dying?” So you
explain to him, “That is what happened to the uncle next door;
he died after drinking poison.” Then the child will understand.
He will know that he cannot touch it because it is poisonous.
Then he will put a stop to touching the poison. The fruit of
knowing is to stop. Virati means to refrain.
Solutions, only through instant pratikraman
One lady says, “When we sit down to do our pratikraman,
people push and shove from the back; do you have the same
problems here?” ‘We’ told her, “No that does not happen here.
Here they do real pratikraman; the kind Lord Mahavir has said
to do.” Elsewhere they recite their pratikramans in the Magadhi
language (language of ancient Jain scriptures), let me tell you
what that is like. If a French man is sitting here and I keep
rambling on in Gujarati, he may laugh with us but would he
understand a word of what I say? Lord Mahavir did use the