Aptavani-8
341
The Ego Is the Cause of All Effects
Questioner: Does the soul (jiva) suffer because the body
suffers?
Dadashri: Of course! If the body suffers, the soul (jiva)
suffers as well. That is because you believe, ‘this body is mine’.
Now a person, who has this Gnan, is not affected by the
mind and speech. Even he will be affected by the body. Right
now, if a tooth ached, it would even let the Gnani know of it.
Therefore in this body, there is effective soul (chetan). But
because there is Gnan, it does not allow causes to occur. One
will settle the karmic account (hisaab) peacefully and with
equanimity.
Questioner: So when the Atma has left, why does the
body no longer feel any pain?
Dadashri: How can the body feel pain after that? There
is still ego (ahamkar) in it at the present time. It tells the body,
‘I am’, and ‘it is mine’. And it is the one that suffers all this.
Therefore, all this belongs to the ego (ahamkar) itself.
Questioner: But the ego is lifeless (jada).
Dadashri: The ego is not lifeless; it is mishrachetan (‘I’
with the wrong belief).
Questioner: What is mishrachetan, I did not understand
that.
Dadashri: Mishrachetan means that it contains the intent
(bhaav) of soul (chetan). That self intent (chetan bhaav) and
the non-living (jada) have come together, to form a mixture,
which is why it is called mishrachetan. And the mind is non-
living (jada). Everything the mind thinks is all non-living. However,
the ego (ahamkar) is mishrachetan. This body is non-living
(jada). But it is partially touched by the mishrachetan which is
why it suffers the effects.