Aptavani-8
43
Man does not have the power (shakti) to sleep, he does
not have the power to wake up, the power to go, or the power
to come; he has absolutely no power whatsoever in him. Humans
only have the power to charge, and even that is not their own
independent power (shakti), but it is the result of force exerted
by the discharge that incites the charging! If man had the
independent power (shakti) to charge, he would never have
been able to go to final liberation (moksha). That is because he
would be considered liable and if he becomes liable, then he
could never go to moksha.
You simply believe, ‘I am doing this’! But it happens
because of the force of discharge (of karma), and when there
is too much pressure, the charging just happens. So it is primarily
ignorance of the Self that hinders you. Once the ignorance leaves,
liberation is at arm’s length.
Causes Result in the Cycles of Birth and Death
Questioner: At death, what sort of state is the Atma in?
Dadashri: It is in the same state as it is in right now.
There will be no change to its state. Only that upon death, it
leaves the physical (sthool) body behind; it does not leave
anything else behind. It only takes other circumstances along
with it. Which other circumstances? The karmas that are bound,
anger-pride-deceit-greed (krodh-maan-maya-lobh) and the
subtle body (sookshma sharira), are all the things that goes with
it. The only thing that stays behind is the physical body (sthool
sharira). The clothing (body) is useless now, so it is discarded.
Questioner: And it acquires a new body?
Dadashri: Yes. All it does is change clothing, but nothing
else changes. Because, as long as ignorance (of the Self) prevails,
seeds are constantly being sown, and only after they are sown,
does it move ahead, but once it has Gnan, it is freed. When one
becomes aware of ‘Who am I?’ one becomes free.