The Essence Of All Religion The Essence Of All Religions | Page 20

The Essence of All Religion
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Realization), do ‘shoot-on-sight’ pratikraman. The followers
of the twenty-four tirthankaras did exactly the same. Today
people cannot do that and so Lord Mahavir has laid down
these raishi (at night), devshi (in the morning), pakshik (every
15 days), and samvatsari (yearly) pratikraman during
paryushan (yearly event of intense introspection amongst the
Jains).
SYAAD-VAAD VANI, VARTAN, MANNAN…
[Speech, action and thoughts accepted by all]
Questioner : Now can you explain what is meant by,
“Give me the strength not to hurt any one’s ego by, syadvad
vani, syadvad vartan ane syadvad mannan?”
Dadashri : ‘Syaadvaad’ means to know the viewpoint,
of the other person. We should know the viewpoint of the
person talking.
Questioner : Does ‘syaadvaad’ mean to understand
other’s viewpoint?
Dadashri : Understanding the other person’s viewpoint
and interacting with him appropriately is called ‘syaadvaad.’
You should interact with him in such a way that his viewpoint
is not hurt. Even when you talk to a thief, you should not hurt
his viewpoint. That is ‘syaadvaad.’
What I say is accepted by all regardless of their religious
beliefs. This is because their viewpoint is not hurt.
Questioner : If there is a thief amongst us and we tell
him that it is wrong to steal, he would be hurt, wouldn’t he?
Dadashri : Yes, he would be hurt. Instead you should
make him aware of the consequences of his stealing; that you
can say. Syaadvaad words will not hurt his ego, and therefore