Baba says, ‘Here, you just have to remember the one Father‘. There is no question of remembering bodily beings. There are no expenses.

I claim my inheritance of purity, peace and happiness through the pilgrimage of remembrance. The more I remember, the happier I am, the more peaceful I become, the more sweeter I become, the more lovelier I become. The very reason I lost my inheritance was- I forgot! I forgot who I am and Whose I am. Maya came along and deceived me by making me believe the wrong things about who I am and Whose I am. She told me I am a body and that bodily things- people, possessions, roles, approvals, titles, positions, fame etc. – were the way to happiness. So I hustled- I tried to manipulate my way to happiness, muscle my way to happiness, pay my way to happiness, but none of it worked. Whenever I scratched my head wondering why, she said: ‘do more, work harder’. She kept me so busy hustling that I never really contemplated if it all made any sense. I was on this treadmill- moving all the time but going nowhere.

Then Baba came and told me the truth. He told me the beginning, middle and end of my story. You are a soul, not just any soul, but a pure deity soul. Half way through the cycle of time, you forgot who you are and allowed yourself to be taken advantage of by Maya. Now, you remember again and therefore, become who you are, again. Only He knows the truth about me because only He remains beyond the cycle of birth and death, beyond the influence of Maya. He is always in constant realization and therefore, is the only One who has the ‘original’ present in Him- original love, original peace, original happiness…and so only He can be my reference point to return to my originality. He says, ‘Manmanabhav!, belong to Me in your mind’. Only through His remembrance can I remember myself as I truly am. He re-introduces me to my original self.

But this is a pilgrimage, He reminds me. Even in the world, when I am introduced to someone, I learn a few things – the person’s name, where they are from, their occupation etc. but I don’t really get to know them. For that, I need to spend quality time with them and truly getting to know someone, as they say, is a journey of a lifetime. It’s the same here. To truly get to know myself, as I truly am, I need to spend more time in remembrance – of the One. He is telling me daily new aspects about who I am, let me listen. He is showing me, through His own example, what kind of a soul I am, let me observe. I am your Father, He reminds me daily, and you are My child. You are just like Me. The more I remember, listen and observe, the more I touch base with my original truth and transform because I recognize the things that are false. But often the mistake I make is that once I’ve had a victory in an area, I think I’ve conquered it and push it aside. I forget that Maya is a chameleon– she sneaks up in a different color, a different form and deceives me. The key, therefore, is to maintain the remembrance. It’s a pilgrimage, not an introduction, not a coffee, it’s a lifelong commitment.

To remain aware of Maya, that is, to be able to discern her various forms and colors, is to ensure I don’t inadvertently hand over my inheritance to her again. She will come as worry, as stress, as anxiety, as bitterness, as frustration, as competition and all the other myriad forms of body consciousness. The key is to always come back to the antidote- I am a soul, not a body. I get my value not from people, possessions or accomplishments, I get it from being the child of God. Full-stop! This has to be a constant awareness, a silent chant. If there is a break in that awareness, Maya doesn’t miss the chance to fill that space and make me her child.

But just because I am aware that I am a child of God doesn’t mean storms won’t come, they will. There will be situations, people, circumstances but the difference is that unlike before, now, I won’t shake. I am now tuned in to the workings of my Father and the drama, I’ve been listening and observing. So I know that if the storm is here, it means: (1) it is a necessary part of my journey i.e. it is instrumental to push me toward my destiny, that is, toward being the original me – that could be strength of character, boldness, patience, faith, trust in God… (2) I can handle it. I might think I can’t but the truth is that I can. God never allows something to come to me that I won’t be able to handle. Besides, He reminds me, I am right here with you. He never promised me that I wouldn’t have to walk through fires, but He did promise me to walk through them with me. Because I’ve been on the pilgrimage, because I’ve been spending time with God, because I’ve got to know Him, I love Him and I trust Him. Without love and trust, I won’t walk through the fires with Him, it feels too hard, the sacrifice too much. But without the walk through the fires, I won’t burn the strings of attachment, of bondages holding me back from my destiny. And as a result, I become numberwise.

Just remember Me, He teaches. Then, you will remain in constant peace and happiness; you will experience super-sensuous joy. I don’t have to pay my way to it or hustle my way to it. Peace, joy, happiness are my birthright, my inheritance. It is mine to claim fully, if I choose to. All I have to do is remember.