Baba says, ‘become introverted‘. Like a tortoise which withdraws it’s physical limbs within the shell and becomes introverted, you too, after you do anything must withdraw and become introverted as if this world does not even exist.

I had forgotten who I am for half a cycle. Baba comes and reminds me of my truth. In silence I retreat inward like the tortoise to touch base with my truth and then move upward to connect with Him.

Introversion is the basis for the power of silence. It is also the basis of concentration.

Introversion is the withdrawal of the expansion and a return to the essence. The activities that I engage in throughout the day can be of much expansion. There are people I meet, each with a different personality, different perspectives. There are roles and responsibilities at work and at home. Introversion is to be able to do what I need to do and then withdraw. If I don’t, there is the danger of going into even further and this time, unnecessary expansion- waste thoughts of he said/she said, good/bad etc. This wastage costs me valuable energy and time that I should be offering toward my own spiritual growth and world transformation.

By withdrawing inward throughout the day, firstly, I will be protected from the environment, and secondly, because I attain solitude, my power of churning the knowledge increases, and thirdly, it becomes a method of safety from the obstacles created by Maya. 

The key is to remember to go deep and touch base. If I just skim the surface, I find the defects, the wasteful and negative that I have picked up. Introversion is to touch base with my truth- my original, pure self. That reminds me of who I am and injects within me self-respect.

I am a point of light, the seed. I am independent of my body- in fact I the actor have taken on many bodies or costumes through the course of the cycle as I have enacted different roles. I am NOT the role, I am NOT my relationships. I am a soul, a child of God. He is always my Father and I am always His child. That is eternal. What else is eternal are my sanskars that are part of me, go with me wherever I go through the cycle. It is these sanskars that become the source of my thoughts, words and actions no matter what role I am playing. Let me pay attention to ensuring they are always pure.

Just as scientists go into the depths of everything and create new inventions, in the same way, Baba says, you should go into the depths of your original form and its eternal virtues and sanskars.  I speak of being an embodiment of bliss, so what is the stage of being that embodiment?  What is the experience of that?  What is the special attainment of being an embodiment of bliss?  What is known as bliss?  What is the visible effect of that stage on myself and on other souls?  In this way, Baba says, go into the depths of each virtue.  Just as divers go so deep to the bottom of the ocean and, the deeper they go, the more new things they find; similarly, the more introverted and immersed in my truth I remain, the more new experiences I will have.

Even a fish feels alive when it is in the water. Even if it does come out of the water for its own livelihood, it will come out for a second and then go back in, because it cannot stay without water. In the same way, let me retreat into the ocean of various experiences of my original form. I only become extroverted for the sake of carrying out a task; take the support of the physical organs, that is, come into the stage of an actor who has adopted a body, but my attachment and attraction should be towards the ocean of experiences.  

Only when I have this practice of being merged in the ocean, Baba says, will I be able to also give the experience of every virtue, of every power to other souls, my brothers and sisters. The more practice I have, the more powerful I become. Become a lighthouse to the world, He says, not a bulb which can only provide a little light in a small space.

When you become a lighthouse, your light reaches the whole world and you become a world benefactor.