Baba says, ‘it is time to finish childishness‘. It no longer suits you.

Baba is my Father. I am His child. He never wants me to forget that. In fact, He says, don’t ever forget the days of your childhood. But there is a difference between being a child and acting childish. The latter doesn’t look good on you, He says.

There are children who are set in their ways. They have their favorite shirt that they wear every day…even if it gets dirty, they would prefer to wear that rather than wear a brand new, better outfit. They are attached to certain toys, certain foods at specific times. One little change to their routine and they bring the roof down with their tantrums. We can be like that sometimes…set in our ways and routines, refusing to flex a little. Anyone asks me for help or if there is an opportunity to participate in a program, I first look to see if all my preferences will be met – where will I stay, will I be picked up/dropped off, will I have access to my choice of food/beverage etc etc…One little change to anything and it’s like I can no longer function. I thus get in my own way, losing out on opportunities to make self-progress, meet people and serve.

There are children that are attracted to the next shiny toy and they demand that their parents get it for them. They will cry, beg, yell, do whatever to get their parents to listen. In the same way, I see that promotion and I want it. I go to God and ask Him to help me with it. I see that new house or car, I see that opening on that board…I take those requests to God and demand that He get it for me. When it doesn’t work out, I cry and sulk with Him and demand to know if He is really there…does He love me…has He forgotten about me! I am so caught up in chasing after the temporary attainments of this old world that I forget that God is here with heaven on the palm of His hand. I forget that I raised my hand to help Him in His task and instead try to enlist Him to help me ‘make it’ in the old world.

Some children can be adamant. They expect others to see what they see – they propose a game, everyone should play it. Why wouldn’t they want to, they wonder, it is after all the best game to play! Similarly, I have an idea, I expect everyone to get behind it and implement it. Why would you want to do anything else? That would only ruin everything! I can be so adamant that I sacrifice my peace, my happiness and relationships over proving my point, over an idea.

Then there are children who are sensitive. They start to play, there is a little disagreement, a little push or pull and they start to cry. Then they go to their parent to complain about how so and so gave them a hard time. ‘I don’t ever want to play there again…not as long as he’s going to be there’! And so they lose out on the friendships, the opportunity to play and learn. I can be the same way. I have a difference in opinion with a team-member or the boss and I think ‘I’ve had enough’! ‘They simply don’t value me around here’, ‘I work so hard and this is what I get’ and I might even leave. I deprive myself of the opportunity to stick around and learn the art of compromise, of finding common ground. I allow my ego to isolate me by refusing to adjust, to let go, to compromise.

At a more macro level, we can allow situations in life to make us lose courage and feel disheartened. We try something, it doesn’t work. Or we have a tough relationship or I lost money etc..we have obstacles come our way and we are liable to give up and say to God: ‘please take me away from here’, ‘I no longer want to live’, ‘what do I need to do so that I never come back into this cycle’. I forget to spin the cycle of self-realization and see the whole story. Instead, like a child, I see a few isolated scenes of the story and declare that the whole story is bad, that I don’t like it any more.

Baba says, ‘this is childishness. You are now grown up, act like it‘. Don’t waste the precious time of this Confluence age over trivial matters, He says.

In life there will be obstacles big and small. Baba tells us, ‘there WILL be storms’. He never says, ‘there might be storms’. But why do I allow myself to be blown away by them? I am the child of the Almighty Authority, I have within me all the powers He has. Let me remain in this awareness and use them. Let me not get careless by being disheartened and shut myself down to progress. Let me not run away and lose out the opportunity to learn and grow. Yes, there will be criticism and loss and I will make mistakes but why do I dwell on them? Let me learn what I need to and move on.

Baba wants me to be child-like where I approach life with wonder and amazement- I like to learn, I don’t spend time moving rocks..rather I jump over them, I am amazed at all the treasures I am accumulating, at how far I’ve come already in my journey. I never forget who I am or Whose child I am and continue to fly in that awareness. What Baba doesn’t want me to be is childish.