Baba says, ‘become soul conscious and all your illnesses will end‘. You will become the masters of the world.

For half a cycle, I thought I was the body and therefore identified myself with the expansion that comes with such a consciousness – gender, nationality, appearance, status, title, name, fame, money, relationships, etc. These things determined who I was including how successful I was. The more material accomplishments I had, the better off I was deemed to be, the more nods and approvals I got.

The problem with basing my worth on material pursuits, approvals, fame etc. is that these are all temporary, they come and go. And so my feeling of worthiness also comes and goes. My stage is in constant fluctuation, something someone said or didn’t say can cause turmoil, something that happened or didn’t can throw everything into disarray. In other words, how I feel about myself is not in my hands, it is in the hands of other people and events.

And so I try to control people and events as much as I can, by any means I can…I hustle. But in trying to control outcomes, I have unwittingly handed over control to my own destiny and my power to others.

We are not wired to be in constant flux, we are not wired to carry enormous burdens on our minds, we are not wired to lead a life of anxiety, peacelessness, insecurity and disappointments. No wonder, we suffer today from severe mental health issues, no wonder we run from pillar to post, from guru to priest searching for a little salvation, a little calm.

Body consciousness, Baba says, is a severe illness. The whole world has become a hospital, He says. I have come to make everyone healthy again.

The medicine: soul consciousness. Remember who you are and all the illnesses will disappear, He says.

The soul wants neither name or fame, it is a point of light. It’s original qualities are purity, peace, love, knowledge, power, bliss. When I become body conscious and start to think, speak and do things that are contrary to these qualities, I become misaligned with my truth. I become someone else… the ego…that I, the soul, don’t feel comfortable with. And so while I work harder and harder to be successful and therefore happy, I end up feeling more and more miserable instead. Then, I call out.

Only I can show you the path to salvation, He says.

Only Baba is constantly soul conscious, in constant realization. He never forgets who He is. Therefore, only He knows the whole story of everyone, of the world. He tells it to me when He comes at this auspicious confluence age. A guru cannot be called a guru if he cannot grant salvation and no human being can grant salvation because everyone is body conscious, says Baba. Even though some might talk about the soul, they talk about it in abstract terms without really knowing what a soul is.

Remember Me alone and you will come home to Me, He says. Only He is my reference point at this time. And so remembering Him reminds me of my own truth. He reminds me that I am a soul, like Him, a point of light. That I have taken this body to play my part as an actor on this unlimited world stage. I had confused myself to be the character or the role when I am the actor. I remember my originality, my qualities, my specialties. I spend time with Him, relate to Him in all my relationships and experience His qualities. I learn once again how to think, speak and act. I learn the right way to live. He provides me with a code of conduct and directions for every task – to protect me from slipping back into body consciousness as I make this spiritual journey back home.

A barrister teaches his students to be a barrister, a doctor teaches students to become a doctor. Similarly, I make you equal to Myself, He says. No guru or priest is soul conscious himself to make you like him. Instead. they too ask their followers to remember God….except no one knows Me, He says. I come and give you My own introduction. Now, remember Me alone.

Practice, Baba says, to see yourself as separate from the body, as a point of light. Learn to see yourself as separate from your role, your bodily relationships and all the rest. Practice becoming light and flying to Baba and spending time with Him. You will experience a liberation and unlimited super-sensuous joy, He says. Just as it has now become natural for you to think of yourself as the body, now practice making it natural to think of yourself as your true self- the soul, He says.

All the soul ever wants is to be itself and experience the company of the Supreme Beloved. When I have these two things, I am the master of the world. When I become body conscious, I not only feel ill but I also forget Baba. And I’ve been ill a long time, carrying burdens that weren’t mine to carry a long time, deprived myself of the company of the Supreme Beloved for way too long a time. I’m ready to take the medicine and get well. I’m ready to feel like myself again. I’m ready to be soul conscious again.