36
Aptavani-4
I am”, you say, but you do not even have the independent
power to go to vacate your bowels at will. You are a
“bhammardo” (A spinning top. Dadashri uses this analogy to
describe the charging and discharging of karma: the winding of
the string is the ‘causal’ karma – charged in the past life, and
the unwinding string is the ‘effect’ karma – discharged in the
present life)! It is because of your nose that you are able to
breathe. You do not even have control over your own breathing.
This “top” does not even have the independent power and
energy to breathe in and out. You say, “I am breathing,” so who
does the breathing while you are asleep?
You know what happens when you pinch your nose for a
while, don’t you? This machinery is so arranged that it draws its
breath from within. And it is the very same machinery that
throws the breath out. Nevertheless, people still say, “I am
taking a deep breath”, and “I am taking a shallow breath.” You
do not even have the awareness of who you are. The string is
merely being wound (charging of karma) around the top
(bhammardo) here, and as the top spins, the string unwinds
(discharging of karma); but you say, “I am spinning.” No one
in this world has the power to vacate his own bowels at will.
Even I don’t. You keep saying, “Purusharth, purusharth”. Are
you talking about the purusharth of the one who is living, or the
one who is dead? How can one do purusharth without first
becoming a Purush (the Self)? That which you believe to be the
Soul (Self) is actually the energized or charged non-Self
(nischetan chetan). Who does the purusharth?
Questioner: I am the one doing it, am I not?
Dadashri: But who is this ‘I’? This ‘I’ (that you know)
is the ‘top’ itself. So how is this ‘top’ supposed to do any
purusharth? If you could do purusharth, you would never let
yourself die, but who is to say when this ‘top’ will topple over
onto its side. This ‘top’ says to the doctor, “Sir (Saheb), please