Whose fault is it? Doctor or Patient?

A doctor gives an injection to a patient. He then goes home and falls asleep peacefully, meanwhile all night long, the patient is in pain. So who is at fault in this? The patient! And when the doctor suff ers, that is when his fault will be caught.

You call a doctor over to check up on your daughter. The doctor comes over and examines her, only to fi nd that there is no pulse. Then the doctor says, “Why did you call me?” “Hey, the moment you touched her, is the moment she passed away. Otherwise, there was a pulse.” However, the doctor scolds you and leaves, taking a ten rupee fee. “Hey, if you are going to scold us, then do not take money, and since you are taking money, do not scold us.” However, such is not the case; he must take his fee, right? So, you have to pay the money. That is how this world is. Therefore, in the current times, do not seek justice!

Questioner: It also happens that a person takes medicines from me and scolds me.

Dadashri: Yes, that too may happen. Nevertheless, if you consider the other person as a culprit, then you will become a culprit. At that time, nature is indeed dispensing justice.

While being operated on, if the patient dies, then whose fault is it?

Whose fault is it when you slip while walking around wearing shoes on slippery mud? Hey, mortal one! It is indeed yours! Did you not know that if you were to walk barefoot, you could press your toes into the ground and get a better grip, and therefore you would not fall? Who is at fault in this? The mud, the shoes, or you? The fault is of the suff erer! If only this much were to be completely understood, then it would lead one to liberation! Pointing out other’s faults is very wrong. It is due to one’s own fault that one comes across a nimit (an apparent doer who is instrumental in the unfolding of karma). Moreover, if one were to come across a living nimit, then one would even ‘bite’ him, and what would one do if he were pricked by a thorn? Suppose there is a thorn at the intersection and thousands of people walk over it, yet it does not prick anyone. And when Chandubhai walks by, even if the thorn is bent backward, it pricks him on the foot. So, what is the result of scientifi c circumstantial evidences like? Whoever is to be pricked by the thorn, that person alone will be pricked. It [vyavasthit, the result of scientifi c circumstantial evidences] brings together all the [necessary] circumstances, so what is the fault of the nimit in this? 

If someone sprays pesticides and causes people to cough, then everyone would scream and shout at him a lot. However, if the fumes of spicy peppers that are cooking in hot oil cause people to cough, then do people scream and shout at it? They scold the one who is caught. They ‘bite’ the apparent doer. If you were to know the truth as to who the ‘doer’ is and why things happen, then what problem would remain?

It is not the fault of the one who shot the arrow. It is the fault of the one hurt by the arrow. When the archer is caught, at that time it will be his fault. Right now, the one hit by the arrow is the one who has been caught. The one who is caught is the first culprit. When the other person is caught, that is when it will be his fault.

Chandubhai* = Whenever Dadashri uses the name 'Chandubhai' or the name of the person Dadashri is addressing, the reader should insert his or her name for exact understanding.