Everyone has a different concept of the Soul. Some may believe in the Soul, some may not. Even masters who have studied religious books have different understanding of the nature of the Soul. Most agree that the Soul is eternal. Many may be able to describe the many properties of the Soul or Atma. However, the exact description of the Soul - the Self, can only be received from the one who has known, experienced and is established in the state of the Self. Such a one is called a Gnani Purush. A Gnani Purush can share his experience of the eternal Self, because he is clearly and absolutely separate from the mind body complex. Only the one who has landed on the moon can describe and share the experience of the moon. The rest have to see the photographs only. Apta means the one who can be absolutely trusted. Such a one has no trace of anger-pride-deceit-greed within. He is not the owner of the body, not even the owner of the words that come through his medium. The speech of such a One, is called Aptavani. In this Aptavani is the phenomenal revelation of the exact nature of the Soul, its experience, and its attributes, its relation to the universe of this mind, body and speech, and its state in bondage and absolute liberation called moksha. Never before has the science of the Soul been laid open with such palpable clarity and precision. All this, and much more is in this priceless gift from Gnani Purush Dadashri to the world. One can only ignore the Soul at his own peril. This is so because it is all about the Self only. This entire book is about you, the reader. It is not about anyone else. You are the Soul, the Self that is eternal.
A gentleman by the name of Ambalal M. Patel experienced the absolute Self, the Soul in totality, one evening in June 1958, while sitting on a bench at the train station in Surat, India. That spontaneous experience melted his ego completely, and he came to be known as Gnani Purush Dadashri. By 1962 the words that flowed through his medium had the power to awaken a human being to the experience of the Self. This process which first began in 1962, has now become famous as the Gnan Vidhi, in which a seeker, regardless of his spiritual or religious background and beliefs, is graced with the experience the Soul. With this experience of the Self, the awakened one then is placed exactly on the path that will lead to full experience of the Self. The first half of this book is a detailed satsang on the Self as experienced by the Gnani Purush. The experience of the Self has with it, the experience of the bliss that is eternal. In this bliss all pain and suffering leave. This then is a way of becoming free from all pains of this world. The reader will be shown how to attain this.
The second part of this book is about worldly interaction and the freedom from all pains that arise from worldly interaction. Beautiful answers are given by the Gnani Purush which show practically proven ways for a person to become free from the entanglements and reactions that create more pain and bondage because of faulty vision. After the knowledge of the Self, these conflicts of life find inner solutions with ease. Here are the words of Gnani Purush Dadashri about worldly interaction with others :
"Make a book that has the knowledge of worldly interactions. If people’s worldly interactions improve it would be enough. These words of mine will change their minds for the benefit of all. Keep my words as they are. Do not alter them. They have tremendous power in them. They are without any sense of ownership. The preparation for publication and presentation is your task."
Aptavani 3 accomplishes both. The knowledge that begins the experience of the Soul and the knowledge that begins ideal worldly interaction.
