Pratikraman: Freedom Through Apology & Repentance (Abr.) (In English) Pratikraman: Freedom Through Apology & Repentence | Page 84

Pratikraman
71
Questioner: If you have good intentions, do you still
have to do pratikraman?
Dadashri: You must do pratikraman because of the hurt
to the other person. If someone comments to you, “Oh, just
look at how that woman is scolding her husband,” you have to
do pratikraman for having witnessed the event. You must do
pratikraman for everything that comes before you. Your intentions
may be as good as gold, but what good are they? Good
intentions are not enough. Even though my own intentions are
good, I still have to do pratikraman. Pratikraman has to be
done for any mistake one makes. Everyone who has acquired
Self-Realization has the intent of the salvation of the world, but
that is simply not enough. Pratikraman must be done first and
foremost. When you stain your clothes, do you not wash them?
Likewise these too are considered stains.
Questioner: If someone is doing something wrong and
we caution him, what do we do if our speech hurts him?
Dadashri: You may be faced with the need to caution
him, but because it is done through your ego, you have to do
pratikraman.
Questioner: If I do not caution him, will he not get
worse?
Dadashri: You have to caution him, but you must know
how to do so. If you do not know how to caution him the right
way, you will end up hurting him and therefore you must do
pratikraman. When you caution him, he will indeed feel hurt, but
if you keep doing pratikraman, within a few months your speech
will begin to sound pleasant to him.
Any cautioning that is associated with ego will hurt him
and this is the basis of flawed worldly interactions.