Baba says, ‘Your work is spoilt when you become angry. Therefore, there is no need to show a stern eye, to speak loudly or become heated. It is very good to remain quiet. A lot can be accomplished with love.’

Anger, Baba explains, is a power of ignorance. It is something I acquired in Ravan’s kingdom over the last half of the cycle. Peace and tolerance on the other hand are the powers of knowledge, the antidotes to anger. These are my original sanskars, they are mine and I have them within me. The question is which one do I emerge? the orginal or the acquired? The more I use something, the stronger it becomes- like a muscle. So, be careful, Baba says, to what you use.

When I am trying to get over an addiction such as smoking, for example, I take care to not keep cigarettes anywhere in the house and I don’t spend time with smokers. Because, it’s not the nicotine that’s the problem, it is the habit. Each time I get a little stressed about something or I feel I need a break from an activity, because of the habit, I look for that cigarette. This is why it is critical to not have them anywhere near. Same here. Baba says, ‘Make the donation and the eclipse of the bad omen will be removed’. Donate the vice of anger and you will become free, He says.

But sometimes, even after I donate it, it finds its back to me! Baba says, ‘having donated the vices, don’t take them back. If ever, even by mistake, against your conscious wish, if anger were to manifest itself, simply say from your heart, the words: ‘Sweet Baba’, says Baba. And it has to be ‘Sweet Baba’, not just ‘Baba’. When I say these words, I remember both that I need to be sweet and I remember the how sweet the Father is. When I show courage in this way, Baba promises extra help. When I keep the aim firm that I don’t want anger, that I will not accept that which I have already given away, then I will definitely be victorious with the Father’s help.

There are many forms of anger- there is the most obvious form of anger that everyone can see. The second subtle form of anger is jealousy, irritation, conflict or internal dislike. These are not visible externally, but just as external anger burns the soul, similarly, the internal anger also burns the soul inside. Then, there is the third form of cleverness where I justify my anger saying: ‘I have to take the law into my hands for their benefit. It is for their own good!’ ‘But‘ says, Baba, ‘I have not given you permission to take matters into your own hands‘. Besides, nothing good was ever accomplished through anger. It might seem that in the short term, stuff got done but in the longer term, there is bitterness, and resentment that is building. The quality of the work done is not high because the heart is not in it. On the other hand, when I use love to motivate and empower people, then the work that gets done, gets done well. They want to do a good job, they want to help. Sure, it might take longer but let me remember how much time Baba spends with me! He’s been working with me, patiently, for so many years but never once does He use anger as a weapon or as a tactic to get me to do something. He never imposes Himself on the soul, He facilitates realization.

Sometimes, I am judgmental and speak things like: ‘You will never change’. ‘This too is violence‘, says Baba, ‘this is taking the law into your own hands and you haven’t been given permission to do this.‘ Each soul is God’s child and His responsibility, not mine. I have no right to pass judgment over them. God is working with them on a pace that works for them, let me not think too highly of my own self when God is working on me on a bunch of issues too! ‘The right approach‘, Baba says, ‘is peace and tolerance. Now emerge these sanskars’. When I see something wrong, rather than judge, let me be merciful just as the Father has been and continues to be merciful to me. It takes a second to damage or end a relationship and a long time to rebuild the lost trust. There are enough people in the world that judge, condemn, and push down. Baba says, ‘you are the children of the Ocean of Love, the Bestower of Happiness. So you must be very very loving’. Rather than add to the vitriol, let me be a healer, an uplifter, someone that empowers. It is easy to get along and be loving to someone that is loving too but the real test is to be loving to all, no matter who they are and what they’re like.

I can only be this merciful and tolerant when I have self-respect. ‘Remember who you are and Whom you belong to‘, He reminds me daily, ‘spin the discus of self-realization‘. When I am stable in my self- respect, then I naturally feel mercy, compassion and love; I don’t have to labor for it. I realize how important peace is to me, for my own self and for my connection with Baba. The moment I allow my peace to be disturbed by someone or something, it’s as if I’ve allowed my heart-throne to be taken over by that person, event or thing and have lost Baba. ‘Peace is your original nature’, He reminds me, ‘you have to protect it. Don’t ever deceive yourself into thinking that ‘the situation was such’, ‘it was a big thing that happened, what can I do?”. Let me not make the situation more powerful, let me sit back on my seat of self-respect.

When you give up anger, Baba says, you automatically give up arrogance and greed too. Sometimes there is arrogance of: ‘I am senior, I know this, who does he think he is?’ or there is greed: ‘I want that, it should be mine’. Then, anger comes. When I get after anger, I will start to notice all these triggers that make me angry- arrogance, jealousy, expectations, dislike etc. and then when that trigger comes again, I will remain alert and respond differently. ‘Continue to learn and share with others’, says Baba. When I do this, it helps me to clarify things for myself but I also receive blessings that help me move on my journey. It is a mistake if I am waiting to be perfect before I serve because, as Baba teaches me, that is backwards. So let me serve, share with others what I have learnt and see my treasures grow.

Your aim and objective is to claim the sovereignty of the world, Baba reminds me, and it is the Father Himself that is teaching you. Let me not try to do this by myself, instead, let me partner with the Father and He will help me and show me what to do at every step of my journey. He is the Purifier and it is sung that it didn’t take God long to change humans into deities. So, let me never give up hope even when it feels hard, for I am in the hands of the best Teacher there is. Then, when I pass with good marks, which I will, it will be a gift to the Teacher.