Baba says, ‘don’t stop studying‘. You have to study this study very well.

This is a study, everything here has to be understood. All other satsangs etc. belong to the path of devotion. There is no aim or objective there. Everyone has become a beggar through bhakti, He says.

Often, we think of the study very narrowly, we think it refers to the Murli. The Murli is certainly a big and very obvious part of it but the study is much bigger, I learn in every single scene of the Drama. Am I learning?

When I am body conscious, I get my sense of self from approvals, appreciation, accolades, praise. If I am part of a team where I am not receiving that, I decide this is not where I want to be. Perhaps there are diverse opinions, different personalities, cultures, temperaments…it feels hard. I clearly have the better idea, I am frustrated that others don’t see it as I do. And frankly, maybe I do really have the better idea that I really did put a lot of thought into, that I arrived at after a lot of due diligence. But that is never the point. The lessons I have the opportunity to learn are of letting go of my attachment to an idea, of being accepting of other opinions, of influencing the collective thought process. I have the opportunity only if I am strong enough, wise enough to stay.

When I leave, I betray myself.

I leave under the false belief that there is a better team somewhere else, that I will find like-minded people somewhere else, people ‘who understand me’. Turns out we are all unique, that’s the beauty and brilliance of the Drama. Each one has their own traits, their own style. The idea is that we all need to figure out what each other’s style is and work with it. When I can do that, it makes me a better, richer person. But when I run away, I don’t go very far before I encounter the same triggers that made me leave before. Until I learn the way to accommodate those sanskars, work with or around them, I keep depriving myself of opportunities and more importantly, I deprive myself of a sense of enjoyment, of peace and contentment.

I go to the center every day and listen to the Murli, I teach the course, I help out with all the activities…I do it all ‘for Baba’….until the teacher says or does something that I find insulting. ‘How dare she!’, ‘is she even fit to be a teacher…she doesn’t even know how to value a student…’, ‘of course I can’t go to the center anymore Baba, it’s not my fault..’ So much for ‘I do it all for Baba’, so much for my ‘love for the murli’…

The fact of the matter is that if I think someone can insult me, I am in the wrong consciousness. That’s my ego at work, not me. I might still be waking up in the morning, reading or listening to the Murli online or perhaps even going to a different center…doesn’t matter. I still hit pause on the study. It was always more than listening to the Murli. The study was the opportunity to learn how to tolerate, not suppress. It was the opportunity to learn to go beyond the petty and mundane. It was the opportunity to clear any misunderstanding and rekindle love in the family.

Every scene is an opportunity to learn and imbibe the points of knowledge but also to inspire others. I might not think so but Baba reminds me that I am always on the stage. Others are watching and being influenced by my behavior. When I leave, I just made it easy for someone else to subconsciously think that it is okay to leave- they may do the same when encountered with a similar situation. But when I stay, when I show strength to transform the situation, when I show love, it sets a powerful example of what this study is about, of what it is that we are learning here, of what kind of a soul Baba is making us. It inspires.

‘You are Rup and Basant‘, says Baba. You imbibe, become an embodiment and then shower on others.

In bhakti, there is no aim to imbibe any knowledge or transform. There, bhagats attend satsangs, listen to the stories being recited and go back home to the same old patterns of living. Therefore, there is no power in bhakti. When there is a crisis or situation, they call out to God- Whom they don’t know and beg. If they don’t see the expected outcome, they sulk and blame God or blame their ‘bad destiny’. End of story, case closed. It’s the easiest thing to do- blame, because then there is no accountability to learn or change. This is a very deep sanskar in the soul having done it for half a cycle.

Here, this is a study. I know who’s who, I have the facts of how the Drama works. Through remembrance, I receive the power to imbibe the knowledge. I then apply the knowledge in every scene. When I see something that appears to be unfavorable, I know there is a hidden benefit in the scene, something for me to learn. There is no blaming here- not even myself. There is just learning. And yes, I keep learning till the very last breath.

The reward is great, He reminds me. You become a self-sovereign and the master of the new world. The new world is heaven- there you are free, peace is the only religion, everyone naturally respects everyone else, happiness and prosperity is everywhere. I learn to be that way here, now and set myself up for not 1 birth, not 2 births but for the whole cycle. That’s a big deal, don’t you think?