Life Without Conflict Life Without Conflict | Page 39

22
Life Without Conflict
Dadashri : If you analyze the nature of suffering, then it
will not feel like suffering. If you do precise and exact
pratikraman (the process of recalling mistakes, asking for
apology and resolving never to repeat it) for your suffering, it
will not feel like suffering anymore. People have haphazardly
labeled everything as suffering without thinking or analyzing it.
For example, you have a set of old sofas and your friend who
never had any just bought a new set. When your wife sees
them, she comes home and tells you how nice your friend’s
sofas look and complains that the ones you have at home have
become old. Now the suffering has arrived in the home. There
was no problem until she saw your friend’s sofa, but the
moment she set eyes on them, she brought the suffering with
her.
If your friend builds a bungalow and you do not have a
bungalow, and your wife sees it, she will come home telling you
how beautiful your friend’s new bungalow is and that you never
build anything. That is suffering. These are all self-created
sufferings.
If I were a judge, I would first make everyone happy
before I sentenced the prisoner. If I had to sentence someone
for his crime, I would tell him that it would not be possible for
me to sentence him for less than five years. Then if his attorney
pleaded for a lesser sentence, I would gradually negotiate the
sentence down from four years to three years to two years and
finally down to only six months. This way he would go to prison
feeling happy that he got away with having to serve only six
months. Therefore, suffering is a matter of beliefs. If I were to
say six months from the start, he would find it too long.
Maintain Equanimity When Settling Karmic Accounts
You have all the happiness of a king but what can be