Baba says, ‘make your fortune satopradhan‘. For this, He says, make a great deal of effort to stay in remembrance.

Satopradhan means that truth is primary, it is the main thing. To make my fortune true would require that I become true first. The most fundamental truth about me is that I am a soul. For half a cycle, I had forgotten this truth and had thought of myself as a body. That one mistake meant that I got lost in the huge web of deception of name, fame, roles, status, titles, bank balances, nationalities, religions, appearance, etc etc. I had so many masks that I started to put on- I was something one minute and something else the next. I was pleasing someone today and someone else tomorrow. It was exhausting and gave me nothing but sorrow.

But that’s the characteristic of falsehood- it is only capable of giving sorrow.

I, the soul, kept searching. I tried to appease myself with more accomplishments and possessions but the thirst only got bigger, the peacelessness unbearable. I was seeking truth and this wasn’t true.

Nothing fleeting or temporary can be true. Truth by it’s very nature is permanent, constant, imperishable. The only true things are the Supreme Soul and His knowledge. They never change. He never forgets, always in realization. This is why He is called Truth because He is the only One that knows the truth.No wonder, then that the soul craves for connection with the Supreme. It craves connection with the Truth.

I was told that I’d find peace and truth in the temples and churches. So I went and I did as I was instructed- I diligently rang the bells, prostrated myself before the idol, called myself a sinner, chanted the mantras, observed fasts, performed rituals..did everything and yet, I came back with that same gaping hole, the size of eternity.

Bhakti inspires blind faith, not faith based on a true understanding of things. I don’t know Whom I’m bowing to or how He’s related to me. I am mostly just fearful of doing something wrong that might displease Him and incur me His wrath. There is no element of truth in it, because truth inspires fearlessness not fear, it inspires confidence, not a sense of subservience.

Baba says, ‘you have to become Satopradhan’. This should be your only concern. The main method for this remembrance, He says.

He wants me to remember because that is the fire that removes the alloy of falsehood within the soul. God’s love is the alchemy that cleanses and purifies. Purity is truth. Knowledge is my compass, it opens my intellect, shows me right from wrong, true from false but it doesn’t make me true. In other words, it doesn’t transform. That happens only through remembrance.

When I become pure or true, that is, become soul conscious, I start to see others the same way. They are souls too, my brothers. I experience love for all. My vision and attitude become pure. I only have good wishes and pure feelings for everyone. I don’t speak harsh words or gossip or quarrel. There is no more ‘so and so said this..’ or ‘I don’t like them…’ etc. I don’t perform actions that sabotage me by causing me to regret or repent. My thoughts, words and actions are all in alignment- no pretenses, nothing fake.

Because truth is original, it is valuable, it makes me elevated. The moment there is mixture, the value drops. The more something is true, to that extent it is also beautiful and beneficial. God is Truth (Satyam) and therefore, He is also the Bestower (Shivam) and the Beautiful One (Sundaram). There is innocence in truth, it is transparent. Because He is Truth, He is also real, not a concept but a living being (chaitanya).

The more I transform, the more I feel at peace because the soul is aligned again with it’s original values, it’s truth. This is who I am. This is what I wanted..not the titles or the approvals…I wanted to be true, honest. This is the characteristic of angels or deities. They are who they are, always, no falsehood or artificiality. This is why they are always light, free and happy. They always have a smile on their face and radiate happiness to others. I have humility – I understand that this is not a competition, this is not about being right or about winning. I don’t think of myself as the clever one, I am clear eyed. I acknowledge that I, like everyone else, am a work in progress. I work in partnership with God, with the Drama and my own sanskars to transform. I don’t rush, I trust.

Truth reveals itself, it’s sparkle cannot remain hidden. The world was originally pure, peace was the only religion and we were free and happy. That is the truth of our world and it is about to reveal itself again. Baba says, ‘whether you make preparations or not, the new world is definitely going to be established‘. Have I made my preparations to be there? Only the boat of truth can take me to that shore. Yes, the waters are choppy and the boat will shake but God is my Boatman and He promises me that He will get me across. Let me get in, sit tight in His remembrance and follow His directions. And then, before you know it, it’s the world of truth.