Aptavani-9
459
and started proclaiming, ‘I am the tirthankara, he (meaning Lord
Mahavir) is not a tirthankara.’ At other times he used to say, ‘he
is a tirthankara, and so am I’. What can become of a person
once this disease sets in?
Now when one does not behave even in the direct
presence of Lord Mahavir, how likely is he to behave before
‘us’ and not go astray? What happens to people if they break
before they have a chance of becoming strong? And that
incident with Goshada took place in the fourth era whereas this
is the fifth era, a destructive time cycle as compared to the fourth
era; it will ruin countless lives to come.
People have taken just this kind of beatings from time
immemorial. They have had this very same beating over and
over again. The slightest taste of the inner pleasure sends the
‘monkey ego’ scrambling way up to the top.
The intense greed and craving to be
worshipped
Do you ever have an intense craving (kaamna) to be
praised or worshipped (poojavu)? Let me know if you do, I
will help you suppress it. That desire will stop if ‘we’ cut it off
at its roots. That kaamna is very dangerous. Such kaamna
does not arise in you, does it? It will arise some day for sure!
So consider it a danger and proceed with great caution. When
people praise you and welcome you, you will develop a habit
for it; it will take hold of you from within, just like the habit of
drinking tea. Then when you don’t get it, you become perplexed
and suffer. You will resort to deception (kapat) in order to get
respect and praise from others. There is great danger in this, so
beware.
But what are people hungry for? What is their bheekh -
beggary for? It is a beggary; the need to be worshipped. And
when someone even does ‘this’, give them respect by placing
their palms together and bowing their head to him, he becomes