Baba says, ‘in order to make your fortune elevated, have an interest in doing spiritual service. Continue to donate the wealth of knowledge to everyone.’

I don’t have to earn my way into heaven- that is completely free simply for being a child of God, for having recognized Him. But if I want to live a victorious life on my way to heaven and earn a high income, I do need to serve. Knowledge is the source of income- whether worldly knowledge or spiritual knowledge. And while worldly knowledge is taught by many and will earn me a small income for this one birth, only the One Father has this spiritual knowledge and it will earn me an income for the whole cycle. And so Baba says, ‘imbibe this knowledge very well, become equal to the Father in this.’

A sign that I have imbibed the points well is that I will have the enthusiasm to serve, to donate the knowledge to others. That’s how the wealth grows- when I invest it. If I don’t invest it i.e. if I don’t use it, I will lose it, this is the principle. Sometimes, I hear this and think: ‘well, too bad for me. I don’t have a platform to donate the knowledge. I don’t have an opportunity to read the Murli at the center, I’m not on stage at programs, etc.’ And so I look at the seniors or those on stage and feel jealous or inferior. But when I feel this, what I am really saying is that God has been unfair to me. He’s given them an opportunity but kept me deprived.

Baba says, ‘I give everyone the treasures equally, you are numberwise in taking’. God is an ‘Equal Opportunity Employer’, He is completely fair. It is up to Him to put all His children where He wants us to be- someone on stage delivering a lecture, someone in the kitchen preparing meals, someone teaching the course, someone else cleaning the dishes. It doesn’t matter if what I do appears big or small to me or to anyone else – that is the body conscious conditioning of half a cycle that judges roles based on level of visibility. God doesn’t see it that way, to Him all is equal. All He wants to see is if I will do the most with what He has given me. If I do, then the janitor has the same status as the CEO.

He never expects me to do more than He has equipped me to do. If He has me in the kitchen, He expects me to excel there. I might be a great cook but with a grumpy attitude- that doesn’t serve. If someone comes into the kitchen, do they sense and experience a spiritual atmosphere or one of disturbance? Do I involve others in the task, give them an opportunity to lend their hand or do I push them away? Are the conversations in the kitchen ‘gossip’ or are they about what Baba said that day? All this is proof of how much I’ve imbibed the knowledge. God wants to see me take what He has given me, wherever He has me and maximize it.

But often I bring in the sanskars of the old world into spiritual service. I think that God will be proud of me if I can somehow work my way out of the kitchen, where I clearly ‘don’t deserve to be’, and on to the stage. When He sees people applaud me, then He will applaud me too. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, this is disservice. God doesn’t need me to hustle my way to anything. He wants to see if I will be faithful in the seemingly small things, in the hidden places. He wants to see if I will be faithful wherever He has me, if I will bring the same enthusiasm to every task. This, is donating the knowledge; it doesn’t always have to be on stage or through words; in fact, it is often most impactful when it is donated through my attitude, my vision, my face and behavior.

This is why when I complain that I don’t have opportunities to serve, it doesn’t fly with God. ‘A lot of service can be done’, He says, ‘someone just has to continue to do it‘. Everyone has a platform wherever we are, the question is how am I using it. There is so much pain and sorrow in the world, souls laboring and enduring through life without any guidance, without an experience of true love or belonging. And most of them, according to the drama, will not come to a lecture or to a workshop. I’ll find them at the grocery store, sit next to them at the office, meet them at the school – what are they seeing when they see me? Do they see someone that is an embodiment of the Father’s knowledge- someone that is patient when they are not, tolerant and loving when they are angry, accepting when they are clumsy? do they see someone that can remain stable in the midst of a storm and joyful even when everything seems upside down? This is service and a proof that I have imbibed the knowledge. This is what brings souls closer to the Father- they are inspired to have what I have.

When I have imbibed the knowledge, I know that my brothers and sisters are not to blame for their behavior; in fact, they are hurting and the pain is coming out in various ways. And the one that is hurting them is Ravan. I know because I was in their shoes not too long ago. The Father liberated me and now, I am helping Him liberate His other children. So what if that means I have to face some opposition, forgive that betrayal, overlook that offense? I will do it because I love my brothers just like my Father. This is the legend of Dadhichi – he symbolizes the notion that no sacrifice is too great in order to help defend the defenseless from evil. He is revered for having given his bones and thereby, his very life, to defend the gods, against the demons. Can I be a Dadhichi? am I willing to stand up to Ravan for the sake of my brothers or am I too busy protecting my precious bones, saving them to climb to the top in the name of service?

‘When you are slapped by lust‘ -whether it is lust for bodies, for money, for name and fame, whatever- ‘you lose everything you have earned‘, explains Baba. I lose it because my intellect has been taken over by Ravan at that point. The door of ‘I am mine’ is the biggest door for Maya and Ravan to enter through and so Baba says, ‘pay attention to where your intellect’s yoga is. Keep your intellect connected to the Father, His knowledge and to His service’. This is how I keep it clean and stable. If I am caught up in my own limited desires, I am not available to Baba for service and not just that, He has to spend time helping me out of pits I keep falling into myself. ‘It’s now time to stop the childishness and help others’, He teaches, ‘stop taking and start giving’.

I cannot be selfish and happy at the same time- I have half a cycle’s worth of experience to prove it. Selfishness is not a value of the soul, it is connected to the ego. The more selfless I become, like the Father, the happier I become, the more peaceful and contented I become. This is the spiritual law, Baba explains. Unlike worldly treasures, here, the more I give, the more I receive.