Baba says, ‘Good effort-making children have mercy for their lives. No matter what happens, they stay on the pilgrimage of remembrance‘. They remain unshakeable and immovable.

This is a world of sorrow, Baba reminds me. There is sorrow because people commit wrong actions. For half a cycle I identified as the body and all actions I performed were based on this consciousness- a consciousness of taking, wanting, needing. Life was about fulfilling the never ending list of limited desires- be it for name, fame, approval, appreciation, money, whatever. I thought this was the way to fit in, to gain respect. I forgot that I needed to first respect myself before I could gain respect from others and self-respect does not come from accomplishments, it comes from being who I really am – a pure, peaceful soul, a child of God.

But because I didn’t know who I am, every action I performed in the wrong consciousness of the body went against my core values, the values of the soul – of giving, bestowing, loving, of compassion. And so even though outwardly things were great, I was accomplishing more and more, I was feeling emptier and emptier inside. I kept losing self-respect in my misguided effort to win others’ respect.

The Father comes and reminds me of who I am. He says: Children, become soul conscious! and remember Me alone. By remembering Me, you will stop making mistakes. When I remember the Incorporeal One, I remember that I too am incorporeal, that I too as a soul, like Him. When I remember His virtues, I remember they are mine too. Every one of the Father’s praise is my self-respect. He is the Ocean of Love, I too am the master ocean of love. ‘Relate to Me‘, He says. ‘I am teaching you directly, respond directly’. When I engage, when I relate to Him as the Father, the Teacher, the Satguru, the Friend, the Beloved, I gain insight into how He thinks, speaks, acts. I see for example that He never gets angry, he teaches me with a lot of love. As His child, I too am inspired to be like Him. ‘This is a beneficial meeting‘, He says. Remembering Him and relating to Him brings me closer to myself. I stop slipping into the wrong consciousness and thereby stop being deceived by Maya into making mistakes. I start to respect myself again.

Baba says, ‘You are now claiming your inheritance from the Father. You children have to remain unshakeable and stable. It shouldn’t be that Maya comes and shakes you again and again. You mustn’t become like a “Touch-me-not” plant. By not remembering the Father, you wilt‘. 

My remembrance has to be daily and constant. This is why it is referred to as a ‘pilgrimage of remembrance’. If I allow myself to get loose, I forget who I am and slip right back. Then, even when a small situation comes, I shake, I am easily hurt and offended, I live bitter and upset over trivial things, I get caught up in questions of ‘how could this have happened?’, ‘why did this happen?’, ‘when will this change?’ etc. This is not the time for bhakti, Baba reminds me, this is the path of knowledge. You have all the knowledge in your intellect, use it. When I forget and come under the influence of Maya, I go from being a child with full rights to a helpless devotee. Then, I go to God with pleas: “Have mercy! Bless me! Give me strength! What can I do? How can I do this? Show me the path! Do not send Maya to me!” This is not good effort, says Baba. This is weakness and weakness doesn’t suit children of God.

When I am a child of God, I am a Mahavir. I am aware that everything that belongs to my Father, belongs to me. I have all powers. I don’t just have the knowledge, I am knowledge-full because I have imbibed. If a Mahavir soul says, ‘I am a mahavir but no enemies should come to me!’, then that is not a mahavir. Instead, a true mahavir invokes his enemies,’ come, so that I can become victorious!’ On seeing a test paper, a mahavir does not become afraid but challenges it, because a mahavir is trikaldarshi and knows that he has been victorious every cycle and will be now once again.

The key is remembrance, Baba reminds me again and again. You have now found the Father. Therefore, remember Him alone! It is by having remembrance that you earn an income. When I forget, I incur a loss and not just a small loss but a hundred-fold loss. Why? because I have been given the knowledge, I have been given a divine intellect with which to judge right from wrong. Have mercy on yourself, says Baba. Good effort-making children will pay attention and not become careless.

Just as I lose a hundred-fold when I forget, I also gain a hundred-fold when I remember. When I remember, I fly! In fact, this is what good effort is – it is ascending, never circular where I forget -> make mistakes -> repent -> forget again. Mahavirs fly! Flying means I use my intellect to remain beyond the dramas of the old world because I know better. I don’t come to a stop and waste time battling situations, sanskars or people, I simply continue to fly above them. I cross all ponds, lakes, trees and mountains. Because I remain high up above, even a huge mountain seems to me like a ball, situations appear like little toys. I never lose my enthusiasm. Such children are trusted by God, the Messenger, to deliver His message to all His other children. I become Hanuman, the one God trusts to carry His message to all the Sitas of the world who are in sorrow, in Ravan’s captivity. His message: ‘Your days of sorrow are coming to an end. I have come to liberate you from Ravan and take you home with Me‘. I cannot be sorrowful myself if I want to help God deliver His message of hope and victory.

The Father says: No matter what happens, stay on the pilgrimage of remembrance. Remain unshakeable and immovable. Remember that you are Mahavirs, the children of God.