Baba says, ‘don’t love bodily beings. They are the creation; the inheritance cannot be received from them‘.

If I were to hold a diamond in my hand but didn’t know it was a diamond, I wouldn’t know it’s worth. I’d take it to someone I deem as an expert and ask them to assess it and value it. I’d go with what they tell me until I meet another expert and show it to them for their opinion. Each has a different perspective, a different opinion of what that diamond is worth. They are all basing it on what they’ve learnt, and are limited by their skill. In other words, it’s all made up. No one can really tell me the true worth of that diamond.

For half a cycle, I was aware of who I am- that I am a soul. I was complete in all virtues and powers, 16 celestial degrees pure, completely viceless. I was a sovereign, self-sufficient in myself. Then, midway through the cycle, I forgot. I thought of myself as the body instead. And suddenly, I was that diamond in the rough. Having lost my identity, I started depending on ‘experts’ for my self-worth. I was what they told me I was and, like that diamond, the assessment changed by the person and by the day.

Then Baba came and reminded me of who I am and gave me His own introduction. ‘I am the Supreme Father’, He told me. He made me belong to Him and started teaching me about myself and about Him. He teaches me through words but also through action, through how He works in my life. But when I don’t recognize the hand of God in my life, I look to people.

Those ‘experts’ take the form of family members, friends, co-workers, service companions etc. It’s great when they cheer us on, make us feel valued. It feels good when sometimes a co-workers stays late to help me on a project. But I go wrong when I depend on them to keep moving forward, when I get addicted to receiving those compliments, to being encouraged by them. Now, I rely on them to feel validated, approved, and fulfilled. And so when I don’t receive it, I work overtime to impress them, try to figure out what changed, and strategize to win their approval.

I am trying to get from people what only my Father can give. He is teaching me who I am. My worth is not based on what people or the experts, so to speak, think or say about me, it is not based on their approval or assessment of me, my worth is based solely on the fact that I am the child of God. Your intellect’s love should only be for the One Father, He teaches me. Remember, we are claiming the inheritance of heaven from the Father. Only Baba tells us the truth. We mustn’t love anyone else. My value comes from my Creator, not from what the rest of the creation tells me. Only my Father knows who I am, not my brother or sister.

People may let me down, get busy and not be available, sometimes, they will even turn on me. What they do or don’t do doesn’t determine my worth, what they give or don’t give cannot stop my purpose. People might not encourage me, but my Father is teaching me to encourage myself, to approve myself, to know that I am special. Through the subject of yoga, He teaches me how to remember. I am the child of the Highest-on-High. If I am depending on someone else, I will become needy, a burden, waiting for other people to keep me fixed. And it’s not fair to others either. My family, friends, team-mates…they have their own lives, their own journeys. They don’t need the extra burden of keeping me fulfilled. They are not responsible for my happiness or to keep me encouraged. That’s my own responsibility. When I remember what my Father is teaching me daily, when I spin the discus of self-realization, when I maintain all my relationships with Him…when I follow His Shrimat, I claim happiness as my birthright.

But when I forget, I live anxious, worried because I start to believe that others hold power over me, that my destiny is in their hands. I think, ‘My boss didn’t give me credit I deserved, now the promotion went to someone else…I’m doomed’, ‘I really need that loan but so-and -so doesn’t like me…’. The old world has to be renounced. Those vicious relationships are called bondage. You have left vicious bondages and entered viceless relationships, Baba reminds me. Let me remember that they are not the Fortune-maker, God is and it just so happens that God is my eternal Father! ‘Well, if I could convince this person to like me, they know a lot of powerful people, and then, maybe new doors might open’. New doors are not opened by people, they are opened by God! He knows where all the opportunities are and which ones are right for me for my journey. He is Karankaravanhaar and is making things happen for me, not people. If someone made hurtful comments, let me shake off the disrespect. I’m being sincere, going above and beyond but people don’t notice or appreciate. No problem! They didn’t give me the project, my Father did. And so, I am not doing it for them, I am doing it for my Father, He is my Boss! All my relationships are with Him. People don’t determine my self-worth. If I feel inferior, it’s no one’s fault but mine. I allowed it but giving them power they don’t have over me. Let me realize this and take back control.

When I don’t, I live bitter and resentful like a victim and think that I am owed an apology. The truth is that no one owes me anything. Let me be mature enough to let them off the hook. Let me go to my Father. His love is the alchemy that heals past wounds and transforms. His love is the power that enables me to forgive, to tolerate, to accommodate, to move forward on my journey. People may mean well but no one can meet all my needs, only God can. Only He is constant, ever pure, He doesn’t have hidden agendas, His love is unconditional, and altruistic.

Let me pause and think for a moment: if I am not receiving what I need from people and that was the only way to get to my destination, then that means they control my destiny. But God, my Father, the Fortune-maker, didn’t base my fortune on everyone else doing the right thing! Through Him, I have all I need to reach my destiny. He is giving me Shrimat and teaching me to do the right thing, He is making me a righteous soul, a deity, a self-sovereign, a world-sovereign. He is reminding me: ‘you will remain constantly happy, according to the efforts you make at this time‘….there is no mention anywhere about what anyone else needs to do.

The lesser I depend on people, the stronger my spiritual muscles will become and the further I will go in my journey. I only need to rely on my Father, follow Him, not brothers and sisters. I don’t need all the people I think I need. Arjuna realized this in the Mahabharata. He and Duryodhana went to meet Krishna (depicted as God) to ask for His help in the war. Krishna said He would help but that they had to choose between Him and His army, they couldn’t have both. And, He said, I won’t lift a weapon Myself either. Duryodhana laughed in his mind and thought, ‘what good could it be to have Krishna on my side if it’s just Him and He won’t fight!, I’d rather take His huge army’. Arjuna on the other hand chose God. He knew that is all he needed to become victorious. This is also what Brahma Baba demonstrated through his life- he faced oppositions, and hardships from people that most of us cannot even fathom. But he stood still, remained carefree because he knew he had the Almighty Authority on his side. That is all he needed.

And that is all I need too. Baba says, ‘The unlimited Father and the inheritance have to be remembered. Nothing will be gained by remembering anyone else‘. Let me stop trying to get from people that which only God can give me. Let me recognize this truth and start passing the tests by stopping my reliance on people. Then, I will not only live more confident and secure but I will overcome obstacles that look unsurmountable and reach heights that I didn’t even dream possible. I will claim my full inheritance.