Baba says, ‘don’t become an obstacle in service’. Remain honest inside and out.

Obstacles in service often come when I am with other souls. Someone says or does something I don’t like and there is conflict. But if I am completely honest with myself and have the courage, I know that reactions to people come from my own story. Others are merely instruments to reveal to me who I am. This is why the family is so important in my transformation, they teach me about myself.

If I can maintain quality relationships with people, that is a sign to me about my own level of purity.

In this life, as we work with other people, there are bound to be differences. None of us are pure when we come to Baba and we are still on our own journeys. Baba reminds us that no one is perfect yet! So the differences will come but they are not what are important. How I react to them is. Do I react in the old, body conscious way – I get hurt, upset, blame you or do I look through the lens of Baba’s truth and take responsibility for my feelings. There is no doubt that sometimes people will be rude, they will say and do inappropriate things but I have to take ownership for my own reactions.

There will be times when I am put forward, other times, someone else is. Sometimes I am praised, other times I am criticized. Sometimes I am given the opportunity, other times not. It’s healthy! the whole aim of this life is to be egoless. When the soul becomes egoless, we let go of the habit of taking sorrow from situations. If I reject others, then that is one of the most tamopradhan of all sanskars. We had been looking for identity and belonging when we came to Baba, it is what is foundational to a soul. To reject others, to hold grudges, to give someone the silent treatment or to be bossy, controlling, forceful, it shows me that I have sanskars that become an obstacle in service and in my own self progress. It isn’t them, its me.

Little things happen, but if I make it into a big thing, a big drama or if I am constantly critical mentally, this is an obstacle in my path, in service. I might not say anything but the attitude reveals my inner world and influences the atmosphere around me. Sometimes I have preferences- I like you but I like her better, I like this behavior but not that. These kinds of sanskars create obstacles in service and in my progress. Instead if I can react with love, goodwill, see virtue naturally, can have compassionate feelings to others, that’s progress. The highest stage is when even if someone has absolutely no love for me, those one or two people for whom nothing I do is never right, even for those people, I maintain good will. The very human reaction is to feel very hurt, upset, disheartened but if I can rise above that, then that’s progress.

Baba says, be honest with the true Father, He says. If, you are one thing internally and you are something else externally, your status will become degraded. You will cause yourself a loss.

We are living in this tamopradhan world, its tough out there. Regardless of others’ behavior, it is my duty, Baba says to keep my inner world clear. At the heart of relationships with others is communication and at the heart of communication are feelings. In fact, 80-90% of communication is non verbal, it is my face and vibrations. The soul communicates in feelings. So when someone gets a double message from me – the words say one thing and the vibes that reach them say something else, they will always trust the vibes, the feelings. We make the mistake of thinking that our mind is private but it is far from it. Thoughts and feelings reach others sooner than words ever can.

If I meet people with a smile and say we are happy to see them but in my mind I am remembering something they said or did that hurt me a week ago or a month ago, I am not really meeting them with clean, pure feelings. I might know I need to have good wishes and pure feelings but there is a difference between what I know or want and what I really feel. Baba says, clean your memory track. I do this more for myself than for others. If I don’t clean it, I am stuck, it’s as if I cannot let go of a story playing on and on in my head about someone. It prevents me from moving on.

Other times, we decide to change and have good wishes but we do it falsely. We see someone and think: you are a really difficult person but I’ll have good wishes for you! You are a character but it’s okay, I’ll have good wishes for you. This doesn’t work! because they are not good wishes, rather just an intellectual exercise.

Knowledge transforms my intellect but yoga transforms my feelings.

Baba is the Source of divine feelings. The more I plug in, the more my feelings are washed and become clean, this is the most powerful form of self sustenance these days. Let me check myself honestly, do I remember Baba during meditation or do I churn feelings about people in my life? Throughout the day, I interact with others, they say and do things but I am too busy to process it and resolve any feelings then, so when I sit down to remember, my mind fills up with thoughts about the day’s events. At the time that I have to take spiritual power, I find that I am unable to. This is why good wishes and pure feelings are so important because they help me move beyond, clear the mental karmic account. If instead I think, think, think, I am sustaining the account rather than clearing it.

Baba says, what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong but don’t bring it into your feelings. This is being a detached observer. This is also maturity.

But often, we do the very human thing. We interact with someone, we feel their behavior is not appropriate, so we justify having negative feelings. Because of your behavior, I think its okay to disapprove of it. This is sensitive nature. Baba says, they make a mistake and if you react, you are making an equal mistake. This is body consciousness. A wise soul observes but does not absorb. Doesn’t judge or hold on. This is soul consciousness. If I allow my sense of justice to deceive me then it is like I become the self-appointed spiritual policeman. Baba has not asked me to be this! This is also superficial, almost religious thing to do – watching others rather than focusing on what I need to do or imbibe to further my progress and Baba’s task.

Baba sees my weaknesses too but He is uninfluenced by them. He becomes the Detached Observer. He is therefore able to constantly support me. If I can do the same for others, the family would flourish, service would increase like gangbusters. Unity comes from my own purity. If I think thoughts such as: but this should be like this, they should behave like that etc. then those very thoughts are what bring about disunity and create obstacles in service.

The trick to maintaining good wishes and pure feelings constantly for others, Baba says, is to see their intent. Yes, their external behavior is not correct right now but their intent is to be a good person, they are on a journey. My role is to keep my feelings clean and positive.

My ascent or descent on the spiritual path depends on the feelings.

If you keep your feelings within the parameters of 5 types of feelings, Baba says, you will become an angel: feelings of benevolence, of love and co-operation, of constant zeal and enthusiasm, of giving a sense of belonging, and feelings of soul consciousness. While these feelings keep my stage up high, even a tiny drop of poison- anger, hurt etc. brings it right back down. Pay attention, says Baba to protecting your attitude and feelings.

No matter what someone is like, it is your duty, Baba says, to have good wishes, to give love. Even if they oppose you, your duty is to keep your feelings clean. No matter what, no matter what….Don’t become innocent, says Baba, by thinking: I cannot make progress until they change. This will not allow me to progress, my stage will be a constant roller coaster of up and down.

The key is to stay in my self respect. Remember who you are, stabilize yourself in any of your titles, He says and you will become powerful. You will be able to see the specialties and move beyond the defects, He says. Staying in my self respect is the way to grow quickly spiritually.

This is an unlimited drama, Baba reminds me. Scenes are being shot right now. If I become an obstacle to myself and others now, I will be that every cycle and deprive myself of the full inheritance cycle after cycle. That is why you have to be very accurate at this time, He says. Don’t be careless. Follow shrimat as much as you can. No one, apart from the Father, should be remembered. The more progress you make, the closer you come to Me. Tell everyone the good news that we are serving Bharat to make it elevated and double-crowned by following shrimat and with the power of purity.