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Aptavani-6
is attained by simply asking for it. One has to nurture the causes
that lead to the attainment of such speech. Then the fruits that
come will be in accordance with that.
Speech is an effect. Speech that makes others happy will
continue to become sweeter and speech that hurts people will
continue to become bitter. Then, whether he groans or the buffalo;
it all sounds the same!
Speech Energy: Use and Abuse
Questioner: How does energy or power (vachanbud)
of speech arise?
Dadashri: Vachanbud will arise when not even a single
word is used in making fun of others, when it is not used for
one’s self-serving interest, when it is not used to feed one’s
pride (maan), when it is not misused in anyway.
Questioner: I can understand the part about not using it
for self-interest and to feed the pride, but what is wrong with
making fun of people?
Dadashri: Making fun of others is very wrong. Instead it
is better to use the speech to feed the pride (maan) within.
Making fun of someone is making fun of the God within. You
may think, ‘This man is like a donkey, but he is God!’ Check
to see who he is after all! After all, is he not God?
I used to have the habit of poking fun at others. Not the
kind of fun that would cause harm to anyone, but it is bound to
affect and hurt the person on the inside, is it not? If the intellect
increases, where is it likely to be abused? It will be abused in
making fun of those with lesser intellect. When I understood the
danger in this, I stopped making fun of people. Is making fun of
others a worthy thing to do? It is very dangerous; it is a grave
mistake. You must never make fun of anyone.
Questioner: But what is wrong in making fun of people