Pratikraman: Freedom Through Apology & Repentance (Abr.) (In English) Pratikraman: Freedom Through Apology & Repentence | Page 33

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Pratikraman
5. The Way of Akram Vignan
What does The Science of Akram say? If I were to ask
a person who steals in a kind and gentle manner, whether he
steals, he would confess everything to me. I would tell him that
I do not have an objection to his stealing, but that he must
regret his acts and do pratikraman for them.
I would teach him to do pratikraman in Dada’s name by
saying, “It is wrong to steal and I will never steal again.” Whatever
pratikraman he does will erase the consequences of the stealing
(cause karma) he has done in the past. By doing pratikraman
his opinion about stealing will change. His opinion will not support
the act of stealing. He should continue this pratikraman even if
he continues to steal. Only I understand what happens when
one utters such pratikraman. Akram Vignan teaches us that
whatever has occurred cannot be undone. However is a way to
make things better for the life to come.
Every religion says that you are the ‘doer’ of penance
and renunciation. They tell you to renounce and if you do not
they accuse you of not doing so. To say, “You are not doing it,”
implies that you are the ‘doer’. By saying this they accept
‘doer-ship’. Even when someone says that he is not able to
renounce anything, it is tantamount to claiming ‘doership’. Any
path that accepts or believes in ‘doership’ is the path of worldly
wanderings. In Akram, we do not accept ‘doership.’ None of
the literature of Akram prescribes ‘doership’ of any sort.
Nowadays, people are being told to ‘do’ things that are
irrelevant and then what really needs to be done is overlooked.
Moreover, they are not even successful in doing the things that
they are not supposed to do. It is all a sheer waste of time and
energy. Really, they must do something completely different. All
they need ‘to do’, is ask for inner strength (bhaavna). Everything