180
Aptavani-8
Questioner: So is the element of Atma (chetan tattva),
the same in all of them?
Dadashri: Yes, it is the same. But by same, we mean that
they are the same by nature (swabhav)!
Questioner: But upon death, when the Soul (chetan)
goes away, does it not reunite? How can it survive a separate
existence?
Dadashri: Everything in this world is separate. The
separation that is felt over here, is the same separation that is
over there! The separation over there, means that by nature
(swabhav) everything seems to be as one, but by existence
(astitva), they are separate. To experience one’s own (of the
Self) bliss (sukh); one is separate.
By their inherent nature (swabhav), they are one, but they
appear different through the differentiating intellect (bhed buddhi).
As long as you have this intellect (buddhi), there will be
interference. When the intellect comes to an end, is when you
will experience the oneness (abhedta). What does the intellect
do? It creates division. Once the intellect is gone, you will be
able to understand this.
If what you said was true, about there being a reunification
up above, then no one would ever go to the final liberation
(moksha)! If that is what is really going to happen, and we were
all going to merge into a single light, then what would we get out
of it? Instead of that, here your wife may berate you, but at least
she will make you savory fritters (bhajiya)! So what is wrong
with that? Therefore, you do not become one over there. There
is no kind of suffering there. You just live in eternal bliss
(parmanand) over there. And moreover, each Atma is
independent. Their nature (swabhav) is the same, but they are
all separate entities. So if they all became one over there, then
what would happen to the Atmas over here?