UUMZAPMS Friends, To become irritated has become somewhat a normal occurrence for us. Many things and even small matters irritate us, but do we realize how much of a weakness it is to feel this way and how much harmitdoes? In this issue, Param Pujya Dadashri has given beautiful insight into this, from which we can learn and make an effort to be free of this type of behaviour. So come, let’s read this issue and become strong in ridding ourselves of this weakness. -Dimplebhai Mehta Printed & Published by Editor: Dimple Mehta on behalf of Dimple Mehta ‘Mahavideh Foundation Vol. 8 Issues2 ‘Simandher City, Adalay-382421 Conti. Issue No: 86 Dist-Ganchinagar. ae Owned by opotth Fountn Sere eee, 2 Riles cesar ry he Usiasi Dollars Trimandir Sankul,, Dis GAnenIADEr: U.K.:10 Pounds ‘simandhar city, inted at syears Subscription ainasasce nscale Antes et Ditcanchienge gp are aeacn area telco im oes ‘Chambers, Nr RBI. een Prone(73)39650109 tae Res Usk40 Pounds emait:akramexpress@dadabhagwan.org ‘Website: kids.dadabhagwan.or Send D.D./M.o.in the Mahavideh Foundation DAME OL anaes Simandhar City, Agalaj-362421 Foundation’. Dist-Ganchinagar. BB |ancsn ExcessIrritation is the initial stage of anger. What is the reason for becoming irritated? If we encounter something that we dislike then we become irritated. What do we mean by the term ‘dislike’? It could be a differing viewpoint with someone; or if someone doesn’t like the way we have done something; or if we don’t like the way that they have done something. These situations lead to irritation. Irritation can also occur when a person totally misunderstands us. A person does not go around wanting to intentionally irritate someone. But wherever that person goes, s/he goes s/he ends up irritating others. In reality, that person is completely faultless because s/he does not even know that their actions or words are ating. Even the mere presence of that person can beirritating to some people. People tend to get irritated even by very small matters also. Irritation doesn’t allow a person to remain happy. It is our mistake if we allow ourselves to become irritated by something that is happening repeatedly each day. In those instances, we have to train ourselves to become immune to those conditions so that we do not get irritated. Whatever happens, we must not get irritated. We must hold firm the fact that irritation is occurring due to my own weakness and | want to become free from it; | want to become such that instead of getting irritated | can remain calmandaccepting. Questioner: What if weirritate someone? Niruma: Then we have to do pratikraman (process of asking for forgiveness and offering an apology to the Pure Soul of, the other person) for it. If it comes to our attention that the other person is feeling irritated because of us, then we should find out what it is about us that is making them irritated. oo —— EJ September 2016The more Q sensitive one is, the more likely he is to become irritated. Our irritation will not come to an end by trying to improve the people around us. Our irritation will cease only if we see everyone as faultless and innocent and also by praying to the God residing within them. ABSOLUTELY NEW AND DIFFERENT ! To derive enjoyment from irritating someone is said to be animalistic pleasure for which incarnation in the animal kingdom is an inevitable consequenceThis tale goes back many years. There was a beautiful kingdom named Sundarpur. A powerful and brilliant king named Tejsinh ruled there. He hada sonnamed Mansinh, who wasan only child. The prince, who had privileged upbringing and who had been thoroughly spoilt, was often agitated by the smallest of matters. He didn’t like it if someone lovingly stroked him or showed affection. If he didn’t like someone’s habits or their behaviour, he would feel frustrated and distressed. Someone speaking loudly or making noises while chewing, or even the sound of someone's snoring wereall triggers of extremeannoyance for him. As the prince grew up, his tendency to become irritated increased. Once he became a young man, he got married to a princess named Bhanumati. The king and queen then decided to renounce the kingdom for their spiritual progress thus allowing Mansinh to rule the kingdom. The beloved prince of Sundarpur became king and so the hopes and expectations of the people also increased. The good wishes of the people were such that they wanted him to be even more successful than his father. The new king and queen were also excited to be in their new roles. They wanted to do good for the people, which would add to his father’s fame and reputation. But the king’s old habit of becoming irritated posed to be a hindrance in his quest! In the royal court, if a matter was being discussed and someone sneezed, spoke loudly or even laughed out aloud the king would get distracted. He wasn’t able to think deeply about matters put forward by his ‘advisors. There were times when he wasn’t able to focus on core points and at other times he would make wrong decisions inhaste. Instead of pleasure and eagerness in ruling his kingdom, feelings of restlessness and agitation prevailed. One day, a king from the neighbouring kingdom suddenly came by to befriend Mansinh. The fact that this other king showed up without any prior notice made king Mansinh feel on edge. Nonetheless, the king was welcomed in accordance with palace hospitality. During the meal, the habits of the visiting king, namely of making noise while eating and laughing loudly while eating, made king Mansinh restless. So much so that he stopped eating and immediately left the table. Mansinh’s behaviour upset the visiting king to such an extent that he decided to leave. He sent a note to the palace whichread ‘friendship null and void’. In the same manner, all work for the development of the kingdom and for the public good started to deteriorate. Feelings of dissatisfaction and loss of hope started to spread amongst the people. King Mansinh became anxious when he saw that his glory in the C6 cooing the queen in this state made the king very worried. That day there were no soldiers accompanyingneighbouring kingdoms was fading fast. Seeing king Mansinh in a restless state worried queen Bhanumati and got her thinking about what could have caused this. She was keen to finda solution to putan end toall this misery. “Can spend the day with you today?” asked the queen. The king had a lot of respect and love for his queen. Because she possessed many good qualities and was intelligent, the king thought that if she were to assist him in state affairs then it was bound to achieve good results. And so the king agreed. The queen carefully observed the king. She immediately noticed the cause of his anxiety. Queen Bhanumati was very clever. She devised a way of getting rid of the king’s agitation. The next day she took the king for a stroll in a forest. Initially they were relaxed, but it wasn’t long before the king felt irritated by the sound of the birds and the dusty atmosphere. “Queen, should we gobacknow?” He humbly asked. The Queen saw how uneasy the king looked. However, she insisted that they stay alittle while longer. By now the sun was high in the sky and it was very hot. Suddenly, the heat started to have an adverse effect on the queen’s skin. It started to become red and blisters startedto appear. “ am feeling uncomfortable. | can’t bear this severe heat; my whole body has burning sensation,” moaned the queen. Seeing the queen in this state made the king very worried. That day there were no soldiers accompanying them and they had come a fair distance from the palace. Without a single moment’s delay, the king took the queen and sat her under a tree. He then made a cooling paste using some mud and applied it to the queen’s face and legs. Gathering some large leaves and branches he then made a parasol and shaded the queen with it. She felt a littlebetter. Quietly the queen asked the king, “How did you do all this? You forgot all the dislike for mud and applied it to my skin with your own hands? You ignored the sound of animals around us and you made this lovely sunshade for me?” The king replied ina slightly raised voice, “You know well about your vulnerability to the sun. Then why did you insist on staying here in this heat? You should first prepare yourself and take necessary precautions before making plans fortrips like this.” There was silence for amoment. After hehad calmed downalittle the king said, “I cannot stop the sun’s heat but I can make a parasol to protect you and an ointment to cool your skin, can’t ? My affection for you is far more than my discomfort and frustration.” As the queen was resting in her room the king came to ask about her wellbeing, "How are you feeling?"After they got back to the palace, the palace doctors prepared various remedies for the queen. As she was resting in her room the king came to ask about her wellbeing, “How are you feeling?” She laughed and said, “am finenow but how about you?” The king was surprised, “Me?” “Yes,” said the queen, and continued, “To make you understand the advice you had given to me, | took you for a stroll and insisted on staying in the heat. To becomeirritated by someone else’s habits is nothing but a weakness in us. No person or thing has the intention to irritate. Just like you can’t stop the sun’s heat but you can make a parasol to take shelter fromit, you can’t change a person’s habits but you can change your view about that person so that their habits no longer affect you.” She paused and said, “Because of your affection towards me you forgot all the things which irritate you and you focused on helping me. In the same manner, your subjects also have a right to your affection. In all your duties if you remain mindful of the affection for every person you deal with, then you will be able to overcome your irritable nature for sure.” The king heartily accepted what the queen said and decided to conquer his weaknesses. Thereafter, the king made sure that he paid his full attention to the state affairs. Whenever he felt irritated, he would remember the queen's advice and act accordingly. Slowly all his dislikes and irritations disappeared. The people of the kingdom also got much happiness and satisfaction from the king’s work. Everyone far and wide had nothing but words of praise for the king and he carried on ruling his kingdom with pride andjoy...!Ronak goes over to| the common room where everyone sits after a meal. They were all talking and laughing. an elderly lady, Ba, gets Ronak to sit next to her. \ Maya is a good natured and intelligent gi Well educated, married into ‘well-to-do family and yet she still comes to offer sseva (selfless service) here every day. Ba starts to clean her nose with the corner of her ¢ Just then, the saree. Again, this irritates Ronak and makes him restless. How are you By thinking of Lord Rama. He able to = would remain so calm and quiet perform < while Lakshman would get social service f irritated just like you. What do so happily? 'you think the reason for that was? ‘Sometimes | His Fe get really _ irritated by >, petaonalty the things | see there. [ae like that.| True, but ‘You don’t know that Lord Rama fuanctuen happily ate fruits that had been reason for already been tasted by Shabri? Lord Rama’s permanent bliss was that he never got irritated. Irritation is a kind of anger. It can intensify . ‘then erupt - Yes and Lakshman asanger. hs TR threw them away. Exactly. Lakshman got irritated ian aay a because of what Shabri was doing lied aemteet and so he threw them away. irllstece Because Shree Rama could see the devotion behind Shabri’s actions whereas Lakshman could only see the actions 4 All the elderly folk in the care home are very loving. Even though you g0 into their rooms with your shoes on and sometimes jump about on their beds it doesn’t bother them, which is why they don't get annoyed. Hmmm. of seeing their situation or intention. FT seerenoce 2016TF you also adopt this kind of positive attitude, you will be able to do any kind of work with ease and happiness. Then from today | will try to understand the other person’s situation and intentions so that Ido not get irritated. Just like Shree Rama? Yes, my Rama. And with that, Ronak = hugged his mum.Who doesn’t know India’s best cricketer Sachin Tendulkar? Sachin is known worldwide as one of the most complete batsmen of all time and one the biggest cricket icon ever known. During his entire cricket career he was bowled out only once, which was during a test match! This happened in 2002 when a test match between India and England was being played in Bangalore. Sachin was batting. He started off strong and clocked up 50 runs with ease. The England team soon realized that no matter which bowling style they adopted, it was proving to be very difficult to get Sachin out. Hence England’s captain decided that they should try at least try and hamper his chances of getting lots of runs. When Tendulkar was close to completing a century, England’s bowlers started to bowl near the leg so he couldn’t play properly. Sachinstarted to get irritated. This carried on for approximately an jour or so. Now Tendulkar was only ten runs away from completing his achievement of a century. Ashley Giles, England’s spin bowler, started to employ different bowling methods. All the ‘spectators, the Indian team and Tendulkar’s fans worldwide were waiting for Sachin to complete his century. Aggressive bowling was going on. Each /and every ball from Giles was aimed exclusively at the leg stump: Because Sachin let his sportsmanship slip, he started to get irritated and as he >. moved forward to hit a sixer... he missed the ball, which the wicket-keeper caught” \and Swiftly stumped him out. Thereafter: thegamewasin England’s favour. So did you see, friends, how costly’ irritation canbe? It’s enough to even make. a wise person lose. his insight.of what'ss important. Therefore, let’s decide that we. will never allow ourselves to become irritated. REAL LIFE EXAMPLE IRRITATION MAKES THE MIGHTY FALLY How many times doec the number~~ (In the previous issue we saw that due to Seth Savchand’s ships not returning, the creditors started to collect their money from him. He gave as much as he could, but when the chief of the Mangrol asked for one hundred thousand rupees to be returned, Savchand didn’t have that much money. Heavy hearted he wrote abill of exchange in favour of Somchand, amerchant who livedin Ahmedabad. Whilst writing, he was overcome with sadness and two teardrops fell onto the document as he was writing. Savchand was not known to Somchand and neither was his name in Somchand’s trading books. However, seeing the faded ink by virtue of the teardrops on the cheque Somchand honoured the bill and gave the full amountto the chief of Mangrol. Let’sreadon...) ‘The good deed gave merchant Somchand agreat deal of peace. ‘A religious and self-respecting man ust have written thisbill after a great deal of heartache. Soif |had not helped aman inneed then what is the purpose of my existence?’ This thought delighted hima great deal. The chief informed Savchand that the bill had been honoured. Savchand heartily gave thanks to the Lord, for saving his honor and by residing in merchant Somachand’s heart. How benevolent of him to accept the bill without any familiarity or any previous acquaintance. Meanwhile, there was news that Savchand’s ships, which had in fact been docked on anisland due toa terrible storm, were now heading towards Vanthali. A few days later all the ships returned safely with the goods toVanthali. Merchant Savchand then sold the goods and recovered his money. He then set off with the chief of Mangrol to Ahmedabad to pay back merchant Somchand hisAfter reaching Somchand’s business premises, Savchand greeted him with ‘Jai Jinendra’ (greeting used by the Jains) and brought up the matter of the bill of exchange. Merchant Somchand asked his chief cashier, “Brother, can you check what amount appears, if any, against Savchand’s account?” The accountant said, “Yes, the books show one lakh (one hundred thousand) rupees have been paid out. It says thatit is with interest. But it has not been written against anyone’s account. It has been logged as. personal expense.” “So thereisnothing showing against Sheth Savchand from Vanthali is there?” the merchantasked. Merchant Somchand turned to Savchand and said, “The chief accountant verbally confirms that no thenameof Savchand owes anything. then Somchand said to his cashier, “Ah I know exactly what's happened. |had purchased that bill Il this talk made merchant Savchand speechless. He said, with a choked voice, “Merchant ichand! What are you saying! have not come to merely show you this money, | wish to give it back to. you. If goback withit, | would be liable of having committeda grave sit The matter was escalating. Neither party was willing to take the aia money. The chief of Mangrol, who was standing nearby couldn’t believe his eyes. He was full of admiration for S these two Jains. Finally, they came to an agreement, “Let’s call upon the Council to settle this matter. Whatever verdict they deliver will be final and binding upon.usboth.” After careful deliberation, the heads of Ahmedabad Council decided that the amount should be put for some noble cause. Hence, Rs1,00,000/- / from Somchand and Rs 1,25,000]- from Savchand were set aside to build a temple complex on Mount Shatrunjay, the holy pilgrimage site which is accessible from town of alitana, After completion, the opening ceremony was performed with great pomp in the year 1619 A.D. The complex is known even now as ‘Sava-Som Tuk._ \cident occurred many years back. It was the occasion of Dada’s Janma Jayanti and it was time for Darshan. (Live connection through eye contact). Around 1200 Mahatmas had gathered. At that time during darshan, Mahatmas would take a garland and put it around Niruma. And then Niruma would do vidhi (special prayers) and put the same garland back on the Mahatma. And the next Mahatma would follow in the same way. This process involved Niruma spending a few minutes with each Mahatma. Suddenly there was lot of pushing and shoving in the queue. Everyone wanted to go first. It looked as if some elderly Mahatmas might fall and get hurtin this rush. The coordinators requested everyone tomakea queue, but no one botheredto listen. Inthe end an announcement was made, “Pleaseall of you forma queue. Everyone will get darshan as per the number given to you. Everyone will get Niruma’s darshan for sure. If the pushing and shoving carries on then we will have to end the darshanaltogether’. Inashort while things came back in order. That eveningall the sewarthis (helpers) were sitting with Niruma. At that time Niruma told the mahatma who was managing the queue. "Do you know what have youdonetoday?” Themahatma didnotunderstand anything. "It is Dada’s principle that there should be no negativity for this satsang or any other activities associated with this satsang (spiritual discourses). How can you say that we will have to end the darshan? Till today myself have never said that | will stop this darshan or satsang. How can you say this? Whatsort of egois this? Then she recalled and an incident with Dada and said, "Once a Gnanvidhi was organised in Kutch. But Dada's health was very fragile and the programme of Gnanvidhi looked doubtful. At that time Dada had said, ‘if have promised once that there will bea Gnanvidhi, then there will be one!” Then as if she was giving an ultimatum she said, "Thisis Dada's principle and in future | do not want this ever being repeated either for satsang or darshan. Whatever happens, whatever the circumstances are, whatever the situation is; once a satsang has been declared, it has to carry on. If a programme of darshanhas beenannounced, ithas to carry on too. This mistake should never happen again." ‘On hearing this, the mahatma simply bowed down at Niruma's feet. [El |Acoms cressSWAMI VIVEKANAND always used to say... If we have only one rupee each and we each exchange that rupee, then we would both still be left with one rupee. But... If we have one good thought and we each exchange that good thought, then we would both have two good thoughts each. Remember this ... Our mind is not a trash can for storing anger, hatred and jealousy. It is to be used like a safe for the storage of love, bliss and happiness and beautiful memories. Therefore, always stay blissful... Information for Annual Subscribers of Akram Express How would you know if your annual subscription is about to expire? If there is a # besides the member id number on the label which appears on the cover of your current month’s Akram Express, then you should know that this is your last issue e.g. AGIA43134. If there is a ## besides the member id number on the label which appears on the cover of your current month’s Akram Express, then you should know that this is your second last issue e.g. AGIA4313#4. Details on how to renew your Akram Express subscription can be found on the editorial page.At the elderly care home while having lunch with everyone, | Ronak suddenly stopped eating.His mum was surprised. | What happened dear? Why a have you stopped eating? 'Ronak hinted at her to look in the direction opposite him, There was an elderly man who had removed his dentures and was rinsing them at the table. No need to get worked up. That’s Let me finish some his habit. Don’t look at what he’s work and then we can doing. You just carry on eating. ee Unnigienyonee! and talk to all the elderly folk. No mum, it’s making me feel sick. Can we go home?