Baba says, ‘Let there be honesty in your efforts and you will experience extra help from BapDada.’

To be honest in my efforts means to follow Shrimat accurately. I had gurus for many births and heeded their directions but that only made me more bankrupt. Why? because they were false directions. Human beings only give false directions to human beings, says Baba, this world is full of falsehood and nothing but falsehood. I have now come to the Satguru and He has given me the true directions that I need to follow. Only by following the true directions will I be successful in my efforts to claim a status in the land of truth.

When I follow Shrimat, I am being faithful. As soon as you received your Brahmin birth, BapDada filled your divine intellect with Shrimat, says Baba. When I am honest, my every step, at every second automatically follows the signals of shrimat. Maybe someone did something wrong, they betrayed me, and this wasn’t just anybody, it was someone close to me. Am I going to stay hurt, angry, bitter, resentful? Am I going to bring my walls up and shut them out of my life? Am I going to cry and curse them? Baba’s Shrimat is to be merciful and forgive. It’s what He did for me when He found me. Can I do that for others? ‘But what about how I feel? what they did was wrong, and at the very least, they need to apologize.’ Baba’s Shrimat does not say that I forgive once they apologize. His Shrimat does not give me permission to curse someone, no matter what they did! Baba’s Shrimat does not say that I have to be the peacemaker only if it is my fault. It says, I have to be the peacemaker not matter who’s fault it is.

‘No matter what others give you, you simply give blessings‘, this is His Shrimat. Yes, it’s a tall order, yes, it takes courage to follow Shrimat but then, the reward is also high, points out Baba. To become masters of heaven is not like going to your aunty’s home! But here’s the good news- I am not making effort alone. Where there is a step of courage, the Father gives multi-millionfold help, this is His promise. In fact, He says, if you maintain courage that, no matter what others give, you will give blessings, then, BapDada will give extra help for the courage and enthusiasm you have. However, only if you give blessings. Don’t mix this with your own conditions, He cautions. Similarly, when that situation comes, Baba’s Shrimat does not allow for spinning into endless questions of ‘why did this happen to me?’, ‘how could this happen?’ etc. His Shrimat is clear- it says, apply a full-stop. If I take this up as a challenge that I will do this, no matter what comes, then BapDada promises extra help.

When I waste time being hurt and bitter or in the spinning of questions, I am losing the valuable treasures of time, thoughts, happiness, powers and my very breath. These are treasures that I have been entrusted with by the Father, they are not mine to spend as I please. When I came to Baba, I said: ‘Everything mine is Yours’. He said, ‘keep everything with you but use them according to My directions’. If I am now breaking my promise, breaking my trusteeship agreement by spending my thoughts, time and other treasures on things other than service, then I am being dishonest. Consequently, the speed of my effort slows down because I take the crooked path instead of the straight road. Then, I get tired after all that wallowing and spinning, and have to turn back disheartened. Sometimes, I make a promise to Baba re: a specific sanskar that He has asked me to overcome, and when the situation comes, He even reminds me of my promise, and yet, I decide to fall to old patterns. Yes, sanskars don’t change overnight and Baba acknowledges this but am I really, honestly trying to change? Do I have the determination to change? Or am I waiting for the sanskar to disappear on it’s own some day? Who is Your teacher?, asks Baba. Have I given you Shrimat or is time your teacher? Once you make a promise, then the principle is that you may die, but you mustn’t break your promise.

Each second of this auspicious confluence age is like a year, says Baba. It takes just a second to earn multi-millions or to lose multi-millions. Once I lose my stage, it takes me a lot of effort and time to regain that which I have lost. And frequent falls weaken the strength of the soul and my self-respect takes a beating. One who is honest, therefore, takes care to never use even the body, even their thoughts in a wasteful manner, i.e. against Shrimat because they are aware of the value of time and the other treasures. Shrimat is there to protect me from falling, slipping or performing wrong actions. It is there to protect me from regret and heartache. When I realize this, then, I will want to follow it accurately – not because I have to but because I want to. And this applies to everyone, not just those living at the center, says Baba. Even if you are living in the household, you have still surrendered your life to the Father, have you not?, He asks. So then, don’t misuse that which the Father has given you in trust, live in the household like a lotus flower.

While one aspect of honesty is to not waste that which I have entrusted with, the other aspect is to use them, experiment with them. A trustee, Baba teaches me, is not someone who simply keeps the treasures with them. No!, they use it…but do so according to direction. So if I decide that I am better off just distancing myself from everyone, and keep to myself as a way to avoid strife, then that’s being dishonest too. Be ones who experiment, the meaning of honesty is that the soul progresses through experimenting, He teaches. That is what purity is – to stay in the midst of impurity and yet, remain beyond it’s influence, to serve it. This is the lotus flower.

So, according to the speed of time, let your steps of tapasya move forward quickly and easily, says Baba. To follow Shrimat accurately, with courage and determination is tapasya. There is only a little time left. Check your honesty for yourself and become an embodiment of success.