What is 'punyanubandhi punya'?

When binding punya (merit) karma, if you have no desire or intention for any worldly gain, but only the intention to attain Moksha (Salvation), then the karma you bind is punyanubandhi punya.

It is the fruition of past good deeds that brings to you in this life, happiness and comfort, a life without difficulties and enables you to practice dharma everyday; that is 'punyanubandhi punya'. If on the other hand you do not have all the facilities and conveniences, but you still have the thoughts and intention of staying in satsang and not hurting anyone, it is still considered punyanubandhi punya; it is punya that binds new punya.

For example, if a man has a good life with all the comforts and conveniences of a home, a car, good wife and children, good servants etc., people will call him 'punyashali' (one with a lot of punya). This man spends his time taking care of and serving ascetics and other people. He also devotes his time working towards his own liberation. By doing this he will acquire the vehicle for liberation. At the moment he has punya in his account, and he also binds new punyas; his punyas may be little, but his thoughts keep reverting to just one aim, an aim for liberation. No matter how small a punya, his thoughts revert back towards acquiring liberation. That is punyanubandhi punya. Pujya Dadashri says that, "your meeting me (Dadashri) is a consequence of your punyanubandhi punya (from past life)."

How can one bind punyanubandhi punya?

For that you must have only one desire, the desire to attain liberation (Moksha or Salvation). Then whatever you do to fulfill that desire will bind punyanubandhi punya, since liberation is your goal.

In addition to this, to have an altruistic nature, to give to others what you have, is considered living the right way. You should give and share wisely. Punyanubandhi punya is where you give for the happiness of others.

What is an even higher form of punyanubandhi punya? It is where you have no expectations in return for anything you do. Even when you do something to make others happy, you have no expectation that others will do the same for you. That is punyanubandhi punya.

What are the disadvantages of watching TV? Which TV shows should we watch?

Kids should only watch the shows meant for them. They should not watch adult shows. If you want to watch your favorite shows, you should first talk with your parents and take their consent.

You should make a schedule for the shows that you want to watch each day and limit the time you spend watching TV.

If you watch excessive TV, your 'chit' shakti will get fractured and your concentration power will decrease. Your 'chit' has an ability to store a limited number of photographs similar to a camera. If you watch TV excessively your 'chit' will take photos of unnecessary things. This will fracture your 'chit' shakti to store necessary things such as your studies.

What shall I do so that everyone likes my behavior?

The first thing that can be done is to make the intent that, "I don't want to hurt anyone with my mind, speech and body." Then you should check daily for about 15 minutes to 1 hour that in the whole day

1. Did anyone get hurt with my thoughts ?
2. Did anyone get hurt with my speech ?
3. Did anyone get hurt with my behavior ?

If anyone gets hurt, you can ask for forgiveness from the pure soul within that person. You should keep this in awareness the next day and eventually everyone will like your behavior and no-one will be hurt by your mind, speech and behavior.

What is the difference between saant purush (ascetic) and the gnani purush?

A saant purush is one who steers people away from bad deeds and teaches them to do good deeds. A saant purush saves you from bad deeds, but a Gnani purush saves you from both, good and bad deeds. A saant purush can give happiness at an emotional level. The Gnani purush will give you permanent bliss which is the true nature of the soul. He can give you total liberation.

What is commonsense?

Commonsense means that which is applicable everywhere, theoretically as well as practically. Common sense is when you can resolve a problem without causing any harm or damage to anyone.

Who is God?

God is present in every living creature whether visible or invisible. Dada use to say, " 'I' without 'my' is God." Now what falls under 'my'? Well, you say my body, my pen, my eye, my foot, my book etc. What falls under 'I'? Will you say, I am body, I am pen, I am eye, I am foot, etc? Of course not, so think, what remains in 'I' is GOD.

Where is God?

God is not in any one place. He is inside every single living creature, man or animal, small or big.

Who is called a GNANI PURUSH?

Gnani Purush is the embodiment of Pure Love. The Gnani Purush is the personification of knowledge. He is the one who has attained Self-realization-enlightenment, as well as the experience of the Real Self and who has the power to grace people with Self-realization. Gnani Purush Dadashri would explain to others, "The person you see in front of you is 'A. M. Patel (Ambalal Muljibhai Patel).' I am a 'Gnani Purush' and 'He' that has manifested within me, is 'Dada Bhagwan'. He is the Lord of the fourteen worlds. I bow to this Lord ('Dada Bhagwan') within me." A Gnani Purush is worshipped in the 'Acharya' pad while reciting the Tri-mantra and thus we keep Dadashri's face present in our chit while we bow to Acharya. A real Acharya is Self-realized.

What is Akram Vignan and how did it originate?

Lord Rushabdeva had one hundred sons, he granted diksha (monkhood) leading to Moksha to his ninety nine sons and placed the responsibility of running the whole Empire on his eldest son Chakravarti Bharata. Emperor Bharata, however, was a knowledge-seeker himself. He became tired of fighting battles and spending a lavish life in the huge Palaces with his thirteen hundred Queens. So he approached Lord Rushabdeva to take permission for diksha and thus attain Moksha (liberation). Lord said to him, "If you too renounce this world and accept monkhood then who shall look after the Empire? You are destined to rule over the whole world and so I bestow 'AKRAM VIGNAN' to you, whereby you will not lose your Moksha even been involved in all worldly affairs." Lord then bestowed upon him this astonishing Vignan (Spiritual Science). This is Akram Vignan through which one can continue to live worldly life, still keeping oneself detached from within by constant realizing the Self and thereby attain Moksha (ultimate liberation).

Who is the most fortunate in this world?

The most fortunate is the one who is not touched or influenced by bad company. The one who is scared of doing any misdeed is considered endowed with Gnan.

Bad company will lead you to do bad deeds and then these deeds will torment you. If a person has free time and falls into bad company then he will indulge in slander & scandals and will become tainted with it. The suffering people have to endure today is because of this. What right do we have to talk about others? We have to mind our own business. People will talk and do gossip even about Kings and prominent people, when they have absolutely no connection.They create dislike and jealousy and this is why they suffer today. What does God say for us to do? He tells us to become 'Vitarag' (one without any worldly attachments).

Why do we have temples?

God is in every living creature. But until we realise God in our own selves, we need to give him a form outside so that we can establish a strong link with Him. This is done through temples where there are idols. When we pray to them it eventually reaches to the God within ourselves. Also people develop inner intent to be like Him. Temples are strong instruments for people to reach to God and realise their own self.

Why do we build Tri-mandir?

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan (Dadashri) inspired to build Tri-mandir-temple for the Shaivites, Vaishnavs and Jains, to make people impartial, for acquiring freedom from religious factions and sects and inspire them to make progress on the path of Liberation (Salvation)! All can forget the differences occurring in their mind due to past practices & rituals and follow the path of liberation without any religion-tag. Dadashri said, "Lord Krishna has never taught to differentiate from others, nor did he establish the Vaishnav religion. The same is with Lord Mahavira who never in his life (or any of the 24 Tirthankaras) said 'I'm a Jain'. They all preached the 'religion of the Pure Soul' and so is what Lord Shiv symbolizes 'the Self-realized One'. And hence attaining this knowledge of the Self or Pure Soul is not restricted to any specific religion or sect but open for all." This was the reason why Dadashri spread the concept of Tri-mandir so people from all sects and religions can come together & lead the life of unity, happiness, remain in the state of the Self after attainment of Self-realization & experience the eternal bliss of the Soul. Also, another important reason for building Tri-mandir (as narrated by Dadashri) is to introduce the whole world the importance of Living Tirthankar Lord Shree Simandhar Swami. Although living in Mahavideh Kshetra (another planet) still Shree Simandhar Swami has a special bond with the people of our Bharat Kshetra (our planet) and hence if His temple is constructed, people will come to know the currently Living Lord; they will worship Him and only then will they acquire Liberation.

Why do I worship Simandhar Swami ?

We worship Simandhar Swami because he is living Tirthankar in Mahavideh Kshetra and if we want to attain liberation it is possible through Mahavideh Kshetra, hence to reach there we need to connect a link with Simandhar Swami.

Who is Lord Krishna?

Lord Krishna was an extraordinary super human being. He was renowned worldwide as a Vasudeva and will be a Tirthankara in the next time-cycle of twenty four Tirthankaras. Lord Krishna was a Gnani Purush of his time. He attained enlightenment from Tirthankara Lord Shri Neminath Bhagwan, who was also Lord Krishna's cousin brother.

What is the importance of Prayer & Aarti? Why do we do it?

We do Prayer to instill good virtues in our self and at the same time spread positive vibrations all over the world with strong inner intent of world welfare. It purifies our inner conscious and helps us concentrate in our mental & spiritual development. We do Aarti to come closer to God and achieve that stage in our lifetime.

What is Reincarnation?

Just like when we move from one house, we go to live in another house, similarly our 'soul' goes from one body to another body. In this way incarnation means only a change of homes for the soul.

What is Moksha ?

Moksha means permanent happiness and the complete absence of sadness or sorrow.

What is the use of going to 'Moksha'? Or What is the point of acquiring 'Moksha'?

Soul (Atma) is eternal, it is permanent. That which is eternal cannot be created or born. It does not have to go and return. That is not its attribute. It is the ego that acquires the new body again. There is a relative (worldly) Atma and there is a Real Atma. Real Atma is not bound, it is pure. Birth and death is of the egoism. Egoism is that which is born. Egoism is a result of ignorance of the Self (Agyan) and that has given rise to this worldly life (Sansar). One can attain Moksha if ego goes away. There is no life after liberation. And liberation is attained after attaining the Gyan - Knowledge of the Self; after attaining the awareness of 'Who am I?'

Are there only 7 lives for each soul? Or Is it a Soul (Atma) that lives and dies?

This is because every living being is looking for happiness and in doing so, has wandered for countless lifetimes. No-one likes unhappiness and worldly happiness is temporary, in other words it is followed by unhappiness. What kind of happiness do people like? They like eternal happiness, the kind of happiness that once it comes is not followed by unhappiness. What is considered eternal happiness? It is 'Moksha'; Freedom! Eternal happiness arises only when one attains 'Moksha'.

Freedom from all miseries is the first level of Moksha in this life itself. Then freedom from the worldly life-cycles of birth and death and attaining eternal bliss is the second level of Moksha.

Now what kind of happiness do you want? Do you want temporary or eternal happiness?

How can I concentrate more in my studies ?

To concentrate on your studies one should close eyes for ten minutes think of Dada Bhagwan's image and say 'Dada Bhagwan Na Asim Jay Jay Kar Ho' or if possible try to read each word in your mind when you say it. This will help to increase your concentration power.

What should we do to make our parents happy?

We can do many acts that make our parents feel happy & proud about us, like obeying them, doing our homework, helping them in doing household work, bowing to them & all elders in our family with respect, help & love our younger / elder brother(s) or sister(s) and many such small-small things in life. However, most important of all is to 'to keep in mind not to hurt them ever in our whole life' and that would be the best way to keep them happy & win their hearts.

Which key to apply when my friends at school tease me or bully me whole day?

I do not get affected, irritated or disturbed by their wrong behavior towards me. I be calm & quiet, but if I feel irritated then my friends become happy and they get chance to repeat it again & again. I do not ignore them but I remain normal, calm & cool all the time.

What consequences will I have to suffer if I lie? What can I do once I realize that I have lied to someone?

In any event, lying is wrong. When you lie, you will lose people's trust and when you lose the trust of others, you lose your value as a person. If someone lies to you and you find out, you will feel hurt. So you should understand that in the same token if you tell a lie it hurts others. The one who lies will bear the fault. To tell a lie is really the fruit of your past karma, but it is the intent and resolution to lie that binds the karma. So you should not have intent to lie. If you happen to lie, you must resolve that, 'from now onwards, I will not tell a lie. To tell a lie is a great sin. It causes great suffering and causes bondage.' With such an opinion, the sins of your lying will cease.

So when you tell a lie, you should oppose from within saying, 'this is wrong. Lying is wrong.' You are of the opinion that you should not be lying. Therefore it is decided that you do not like lies. Since you no longer have the opinion that it is acceptable to lie, your responsibility ends. So change your opinion. In addition, for telling a lie you will have to repent. As soon as you realize that you have lied, you must immediately ask for forgiveness from 'Dada' by saying, 'Dada, I do not want to lie and yet I did. Please forgive me. I will not lie again.'