In a few minutes I am going to repent to God
and ask His forgiveness for my sins and also
for the sins of everyone connected with me.
Because I shall include myself in this
repentance and prayer, it is important for you
to know that I shall, for the time being, take
my stand as an ordinary devotee; that is, as
one whose devotion and longing for Union
with God are weakened and corrupted again
and again by evil thoughts, evil feelings, evil
words and deeds.
I know that only God exists and in the same
way I also know that good and evil are merely
aspects or manifestations of God Himself.
For the ordinary man, and even the ordinary
devotee, this knowledge of the true nature of
good and evil is only the fruit of faith and
reason. It is therefore theoretical, and not real
Knowledge and so it does not free him from
the law of Karma — the law that is based on
God's Will — the law that pervades throughout
eternity.
The Dnyani, however, because he knows
the Truth by actual experience, is utterly free
from all his bindings and he, therefor, knows
that, as a Dnyani, he is exempt from the law
of Karma; and since he knows the true
nature of good and evil, he also knows that no
one is to be blamed for anything he thinks or
feels or says or does. And he knows, too, that
sequels to good and evil, such a heaven and
hell, dying and being born again and again, are
the results of God's Will functioning through
Cosmic Law, but also that they exist only
because ignorance makes them exist.
Thus the Dnyani, who may often intercede
with God for his devotees and for humanity at
large, never repents to God and never asks
forgiveness for anything concerning himself.
By a special dispensation of God, also, the
very highest type of devotee whose whole
being is permanently focused on the Divine
Beloved is as completely exempt from the law
of Karma and the Dnyani. Unlike the
Dnyani, however, such a devotee is utterly
ignorant of this exemption.
But the ordinary devotee, no matter how
sincere in his devotion, remains bound by the
law of Karma, and so his best course is to
apply this law to his own spiritual advantage
by the constant practice of virtue and the
constant abstention from evil. And when he
fails in virtue, or falls into sin, he must throw
himself on the boundless mercy of God and
ask His forgiveness.
This repentance and prayer for forgiveness
will now be uttered for me, for you and for all
who are connected with me.
When Donkin finished his reading, Baba
added, "Maybe some of you, or many of you,
or all of you have no bindings, or desires and
attachments. But as today I am in this state (of
a devotee) I would like you to join me, to
encourage me in asking God's forgiveness."
At the end of this comment Baba stood up on the
dais and all those present automatically rose.
