Baba says, ‘The Father is the Remover of Sorrow and the Bestower of Happiness. You are His children and you must therefore not cause anyone sorrow‘. You must now only give happiness.

None of us set out each day thinking we must cause others sorrow and yet, we inadvertently do. I give that which I have and so if I am giving sorrow, it must be that it’s what I carry within me. Often, I’m not consciously aware that this is what’s going on. I even say: ‘this is just who I am, it’s how I’ve always been, I’m just straight-forward, I say it like it is’ etc. Having been in the wrong consciousness or unconscious for half a cycle, I have accepted certain falsehoods to be natural, as true. Baba comes and sets the record straight. He teaches me that I am originally, a pure, peaceful, love-full soul; He reminds me that I am His child and just like Him; He is the Remover of Sorrow and Bestower of Happiness and as His child, so am I. Therefore, when I am negative, sarcastic, and condescending, that’s not who I am, it’s who I’ve chosen to be. It might be a consequence of how I was raised, maybe it’s what I saw growing up, but Baba teaches me that I don’t have to stay that way. I have the power to transform.

My attitude is the easiest and fastest facility that influences the atmosphere around me. So if that’s wrong, it brings sorrow to me and to everyone around me.

If I’m hard to get along with, if I am bitter over disappointments, if I focus on other’s weaknesses and fill my mind with them, then I am filling myself with sorrow and that’s what I give to others. Yes, I was treated unfairly, but I cannot change others, I cannot change how I was raised, I don’t have control over a lot in life but what I can control is my attitude. Am I going to live this day negative, bitter, seeing wrong, with a chip on my shoulder or am I going to live it in faith– positive, hopeful, seeing the best, being good to people? This is a choice I have to make everyday. It is not something I understand once and then assume I’ll start behaving that way automatically. At this time in the cycle, the atmosphere is negative by default, there are swirling currents of heavy karmic accounts. To counter that, I have to be purposeful, proactive and actively choose the right attitude, daily.

With one little tweak to my attitude, I could see a thousand-fold change in how I feel internally and therefore in how I make others feel. Instead of going to work sour, dreading the day, feeling unappreciated, I would show up with a smile, grateful to have a job, realizing that I’m not working for people but for God, that He is my Source. In relationships, rather than be contentious, hard to get along with, I’d be friendly, loving, and respectful. With my holy-swan intellect that I have received as a gift from God, I would learn to see the specialties in others, I would see the pure intention each soul has to be the best child of God and holding that firm, I would always maintain good wishes and pure feelings for all. When I take my attitude higher, my relationships get better.

When I walk around with bitterness, resentment, with a chip on my shoulder, it’s as if I am walking around wearing a coat of heaviness. Then, I wonder why I don’t have any joy, why everything feels like a burden, why I don’t have any zeal and enthusiasm. It’s because of that heavy coat I’m wearing constantly thinking about what I didn’t get, who left me out; feeling self-pity over what didn’t work out etc. Let me instead remember who I am, Who my Father is, Who my Teacher is and Who my Guru is. Let me spin the discus of self-realization and see my own elevated part throughout the cycle. I cannot have a defeated mentality and expect to live a happy and victorious life. When I am unfulfilled, I am unhappy, and I make others unhappy.

Let me make an adjustment in my attitude, let me take off the old, heavy coat and put on the coat that God has given me – the coat of kindness, compassion and humility. This coat is so light, it allows me to fly and it is so shiny that it attracts everyone to me. I have to put this coat on everyday, fresh. Yesterday’s attitude will get old. If I don’t start each day with a clean slate, fresh and anew, I’ll bring in bitterness from yesterday into today. In many cases, we haven’t worn a new attitude for years; it’s like wearing the same clothes without washing them for years…it smells! And here’s the key, unless I take off this old attitude, it will follow me wherever I go. I could change jobs, even try to make new friends but the smell is still there. Many times, how the other person looks to me depends on the color of the glasses I am wearing, Baba teaches. If my glasses are unclean, I will think the dirt or impurity is in the other person but in fact, I need to clean my glasses out. To the pure, all things appear pure. That’s why God gets along with everyone, He loves everyone no matter who it might be.

Could it be that it’s time to look in the mirror and realize that perhaps, the problem is with me, not with the job or with other people? A bad attitude will stop my dreams from coming true, it will take me in the wrong direction no matter how smart or talented I may be. Then, there is only heartache, disappointment and as a result, sorrow.

Let me remember the unbelievable fortune I have- I know God, He is my Father! He wakes me up each morning, He teaches me, cares for me, sustains me. Every day of this confluence age is a gift from Him. He is making me and molding me into the master of heaven. Let me follow His elevated directions, His Shrimat and protect myself from wrong attitudes, let me remember the attainments I have received, the experiences with the Friend, the Beloved; let me feed my mind His elevated versions that uplift the soul. He is telling me who I am, that I am pure, elevated, a deity soul, His child – to remain in this awareness is Manmanabhav, this is the life giving herb that revives me back into the right consciousness. Then, my attitude is fresh and new, I am happy and I give happiness.