The Essence Of All Religion The Essence Of All Religions | Page 24

The Essence of All Religion
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not to criticize, offend, or insult any living monk, nun, preacher,
or religious head.”
Dadashri : ‘Avarnavaad’ is to not say something as it
is. To depict a false picture about someone is avarnavaad. For
example, everyone has good and bad qualities. To talk only
about the bad qualities, and not give credit for the good qualities
is avarnavaad. You should say, “He lacks in this manner, but
in that manner he is very good!” Varnavaad is to say something
as it is, and avarnavaad is to say things contrary to the facts.
To say something negative about a Self-Realized person
is the most extreme form of avarnavaad, and it has grave
consequences.
Questioner : Does this include the monks, nuns, and
preachers?
Dadashri : Yes, all of them. It does not matter if they are
on the right path or not, whether they are Self-Realized or not,
it is not for you to see. After all, are they not followers of Lord
Mahavir? Whatever they may be doing, they are doing it in His
name. Therefore, we cannot say anything false about them.
Questioner : What is the difference between
avarnavaad and viradhana?
Dadashri : Viradhana takes you to lower gatis, (lower
life forms), whereas with avarnavaad, there will be no
consequences if pratikraman is done afterwards. So if you do
pratikraman after having done avarnavaad, everything
becomes clear again.
Questioner : Please explain avinaya and viradhana.
Dadashri : Avinaya is not considered viradhana.
Avinaya is the attitude of, “I have nothing to do with it, it does
not concern me.”