Baba says, ‘you are unable to stabilize in your self-respect unless you renounce body consciousness.’

I have been plagued by body consciousness in its various manifestations for half a cycle. Now, Baba has given me the realization of who I really am and He’s coaching me on the right way to live. More than anything else, I want to be that which He wants me to be, I want to live a peaceful, happy and carefree life. And I try to change myself – overcome that anger, overcome that bitterness, etc. Pretty quickly though, I find myself feeling miserable because I am engaged in a constant battle against these various forms of body consciousness – I might with great effort let go of one form only to find another one roaring it’s head; then I make effort to let go of that and a third one emerges. My heart is right but my approach is wrong.

Baba says, ‘rather than labor against body consciousness, adopt the more sensible approach.‘ Body consciousness is darkness rooted in ignorance- I don’t know who I am; it’s based on wrong identity where I think of myself as that relationship, that role, that title, that name etc. and so it’s easy to feel offended, get caught up in comparisons etc. and inevitably end up causing myself sorrow. ‘Don’t fight darkness, simply switch on the light’, Baba points out. The light is self-respect. It’s knowing who I really am, Whom I belong to and my elevated part in the drama. It is hard to let go of something I have clung on to for half a cycle but if I can attach myself to something even better, then the letting go happens automatically; I don’t have to labor at it.

I receive so much self-respect at this confluence age from God Himself! This is the best part of all! Each morning, God Himself wakes me up, I celebrate a meeting with Him. Also each morning, He reminds me of just how elevated I am, of how much I mean to Him, of how valuable I am in the drama. If I were to make a list of all the titles of self-respect I have from Him, I wouldn’t be able to finish. ‘Every one worships and praises the Father and each of His praise is your self-respect’, He reminds me. When I turn on this switch, that is, when I stabilize myself in the awareness of even one of my titles, body consciousness will vanish just as darkness vanishes when there is light.

‘When you have a direct connection with the Powerhouse, you can easily switch on this light’, He teaches. Indeed, when I sit in front of the picture of the tree, I realize that I am one of the handful of souls that has a direct connection with the Supreme Light. ‘You are the trunk of the tree‘, He reminds me. All the other religions and sects are the branches that have an indirect link with the Father- through the trunk, through me. If I am battling darkness, I am not just causing a loss to myself, but I am also depriving the branches of their much needed light, their nutrition from the Father; ‘Always remember’, Baba teaches, ‘that your effort at this time is never just for yourself, it is for the whole tree.‘

So it’s important that I know how to turn on the light and keep it on. ‘This becomes an effort only when your link with the Father is broken‘, Baba points out. The link is broken when it is a weak link that is formed in the head based on understanding only- I know I am a soul and a child of God. But when the link is based on love in the heart, when I have actually experienced who I am, then no one can break such a link, He says. God isn’t just the Father, Teacher and Satguru but He is also my Friend, my Beloved, my Companion…He is all my relationships. The more I actually fulfill these relationships, fulfill my promise of ‘Mine is One Baba and none other’, then I will see the benefit of the promise; I will grow closer to Him and there is more love and trust that develops. ‘Don’t be someone that simply makes promises and then forgets them’, He says, ‘but be someone that actually fulfills them and takes benefit’. When I have a down moment, rather than turn to the old world- to entertainment or a vacation or a bodily friend and relative- simply open your book of experiences with the Father, teaches Baba. The greatest entertainment, He says, is to become Manmanabhav! When you remind yourself of all your stories with the Father, when you remember just how much love God has for you, you will automatically become happy, the light will turn on.

And when my light is on and shining brightly, I become the lighthouse for the whole world.