Pratikraman: The Key That Resolves All Conflicts (Full Version) Pratikraman: The Key That Resolves All Conflicts | Page 199

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Pratikraman
Signs of Washing Off the Mistakes
Questioner: How am I to wash away my paap (demerit
karma; wrong actions) karma now?
Dadashri: For each stain (demerit, paap karma) you
should do pratikraman. If any stain is stubborn, then it will
need to be washed over and over again.
Questioner: How can I tell whether the stain is gone or
not?
Dadashri: You will know when your mind becomes clean
from within. Your face will glow. There will be a natural smile on
the face. Can you not tell? How can you not? How can you not
tell where the problem is? And even if the ‘stain’ (paap) has not
gone, there is no problem. You just keep on doing pratikraman.
Keep scrubbing away with the soap of pratikraman. Do you
understand what paap is?
Questioner: Is it paap when one does not follow Dada’s
Agnas?
Dadashri: No, it is not like that - that is not paap. Paap
(demerit karma, sin) is when you hurt anyone; whether it is a
tree, a human, an animal or any living being. To pluck leaves
from a tree unnecessarily is a paap; the tree also feels pain.
By not following the Agnas, you will be the one to sustain
a loss, whereas paap hurts others. It is a paap when you hurt
others, therefore, you should not inflict even the slightest pain on
others.
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Questioner: If a man acts according to his nature, does
he bind merit or demerit karma?
Dadashri: He will bind demerit karma if he hurts anyone.
He is doing it based on his nature, but he should understand
that he is hurting others and that is why he should ask for
forgiveness; his pratikraman should be, ‘I have a bad nature,