210
Aptavani-9
So what is a Gnani Purush like? He is without any
attachment and He is ego-less. He lives the way nature keeps
him. He does not have any ‘I-ness’ (potapanu).
Where there is no ‘my-ness’ there exists the
supreme Self
Where one has any selfish interest, where there is even a
trace of my-ness (mamata), there cannot be any salvation. God
manifests where there is no my-ness. Ego exists only due to
attachment (this is mine; mamata).
Questioner: Is it possible that mamata gives rise to the
ego, which in turn gives rise to raag (attachment)?
Dadashri: No, it is mamata which gives rise to
everything. Why does the ‘I’ exist? It exists because of ‘my’.
Otherwise, the ‘I’ is the absolute Self (parmatma). ‘My’ means
mamata. Once there is a separation between the ‘I’ and the
‘my’, then what is left? The ‘I’ and that ‘I’ verily is the pure
Soul.
Questioner: Would everyone become a Gnani if they
became free from mamata?
Dadashri: Yes. A person will become a Gnani if he
becomes free of mamata. All those who became tirthankaras,
they were all free from mamata. Mamata can never exist
there.
Questioner: What gives rise to this ‘my-ness’
(mamatva)?
Dadashri: It arises out of greed (lalacha); greed of any
kind.
Questioner: Is it because of what had been done in the
past life?
Dadashri: It is only because you have come into this
Gnan that you are able to understand that everything one