This happened in Mumbai. Parents of one young brahmachari (one who has taken a vow of celibacy) came to satsang with him one day. They normally did not attend satsangs, this was the first time they had come, along with the whole family, and so the young brahmachari was very happy.
After the satsang was over, the young brahmachari was so excited that he went to other brahmacharis and said to them, ‘My mom and my whole family came today.’ Upon hearing him say this, one of the other brahmachari immediately told him, “Don’t say ‘my mom came’, say ‘the ‘file’ had come’ you have to keep it that way”. He told the young brahmachari what he wanted to say but it hurt the young man very much.
Interactions between them changed. He (the young brahmachari) would not talk with him if he needed his help or he would interact very superficially. He realized that the young man was hurt by his comment and so he started to do his pratikraman as soon as he realized that he had stopped talking with him.
They were all sitting down to dinner with Niruma one evening. After Niruma finished eating, he told Niruma what had happened in that satsang. He also informed Niruma that the young man was hurt and that he had started doing his pratikraman. Niruma did not say a word at that time.
The next morning, when they went to Doordarshan, she scolded that young man (who had made the comment). “A disease of ‘I know something’ has started within you. ‘He does not remain in Gnan and I do. I understand more than he does’. All this is happening to you. Study this and do samayik on this. Read the chapter on this in Aptavani 9. This (disease of ‘I know’) will blow aside even Gnan. This is considered a mistake of darkness.”
When she pointed it out to him in this way, it was then that he understood that it all happened even without him realizing it. How big a mistake works behind such a small matter and how great a hurt it creates to others. It was impossible for him to realize this on his own. He then started doing a lot of pratikraman.
See friends, a person can never see his own mistakes. The Gnani can see things right through and so the Gnani can show us our mistakes. A mistake may be small but the Gnani can get to the root of it and help us come out of it. That is why it is said that the Gnani is our mirror. One cannot see his own prakruti, (the mind-speech-body complex; the relative self) but the Gnani can see right through it. You may have simply made a comment in passing but the Gnani will get to the root of it and pull you out of it.