Baba says, ‘Anger is a very big thorn. Without staying in yoga, you cannot change from thorns into flowers.’

At this time in the iron age, there is not a single righteous human-being, there isn’t a single deity in the world. In the golden age, there are only deities, completely righteous, completely virtuous souls. So surely, God must have come at this time, at the confluence of the iron age and the golden age, to change human-beings into deities. The Father came and taught such actions that people learnt them, imbibed divine virtues and became deities. It doesn’t matter how saintly a person is at this time, be it a guru or a spiritual leader or whoever, they might talk about heaven and how full of peace and love it is, how elevated the souls who reside in heaven are but they cannot make themselves, let alone anyone else, a deity.

Baba says, ‘Only at this time do you children change from thorns into flowers. The number one, biggest thorn is body consciousness. Only the Father can free you from that; no one else has the power to do it.’ 

Those who are under the influence of the five vices, Baba explains, are called thorns. It all starts with the wrong identity – I think of myself as the body instead of a soul; in other words, I identify as my role, relationships, titles, worldly status, reputation etc. When the foundation is wrong, everything else becomes wrong. When my role or reputation comes under attack, which it will, I feel offended and angry. When I face betrayal in my relationships, which also I will, I become bitter and resentful. In other words, from this one thorn of body consciousness, all other thorns take birth. ‘A forest of thorns gives a lot of pain‘, says Baba. There are many varieties of thorns in a forest. That is why this world is called the land of sorrow. There are no thorns in the new world, which is why that world is called the land of happiness. Shiv Baba creates the garden of flowers and Ravan changes it into the forest of thorns.

The good news is that this is the time in the cycle when God is creating the garden of flowers and for which He is changing me from a thorn into a flower. Lakshmi and Narayan are roses constantly in bloom, surely they made effort at this time to become that from thorns. They became that by studying the knowledge that God is teaching at this time. He doesn’t just speak the words and leave; He rolls up His sleeves and shows me how to perform good acts. He is not just my Teacher who speaks the Murli each morning, He is also my Satguru Who guides me throughout the day. When that person behaves sloppily and I’ve just about had enough, He prompts me: ‘let it go, keep your peace’. Here’s the thing to remember: I cannot change other people, no matter how hard I try. Heck, even Brahma or Lakshmi and Narayan cannot change other people, only God can. Only He can grant salvation and liberation to all souls. And He will do it the right way, and at the right time for that soul. So if I’m smart, rather than lose my peace and my joy over something someone else said or did, I will let God work with them. ‘So, is there nothing for me to do?’ Actually, there is! Along with letting go, I get to have good wishes and pure feelings for that soul, I get to feel compassion for that soul. I might not think much of it but I’d be surprised how much power good wishes and pure feelings can have in someone’s life. ‘Do this and trust Me to do the rest‘, says Baba. Let me learn to stick to my part and let God do that which only He can do.

Sometimes, I come into connection or relationship with others and immediately I get to work on making them like me. I try to get them to think like me, respond to things like me, behave like me and when they inevitably don’t, I feel disappointed. ‘No two souls are alike‘, Baba explains, ‘everyone is unique with their own specialties. I come to create a garden of flowers‘. A garden has a variety of flowers, that’s what makes a garden so attractive! The Gardener gets to decide which flowers He wants and where, I don’t. Let me stop focusing on the garden and focus on being the best version of me.

‘Simply remember the sweet Father’, He says. ‘By remembering Me, you will become pure and satopradhan. Everything depends on the pilgrimage of remembrance.’

It is one thing to change from a bud into a blossom and an entirely different thing to change from a thorn into a flower; that, is magic! He is the Magician. It is of Him that it is said: ‘it didn’t take God long to change human-beings into deities‘. He comes and rains the rain of knowledge on me, He shows me right from wrong. In the past, when I got angry at a certain behavior, I would feel completely justified, even proud of myself. Now, that same act causes me sorrow; I feel I shouldn’t have behaved that way or spoken those words. And it’s not easy to come face to face with my weaknesses, to see myself behave as I do. The knowledge is the mirror that God holds before me so I can, for the first time in my life, see myself clearly. He doesn’t show me my behaviors to condemn me, He shows it to me because He loves me too much to let me stay as I am. He shows me because He sees the potential, He sees the flower in the thorn. And so when I have truly recognized the Father from my heart, rather than wilt, I feel happy: ‘I am changing from a thorn into a fragrant flower! God Himself is changing me into a beautiful flower and I’m all in!’. The world cycle is like the seasons- there is spring and summer, but there is also fall and winter. The same tree that was full of green leaves, flowers and fruits becomes a tree with only dried thorns by the winter. I don’t judge or reject the tree, it’s just how it works! Then, after the winter, there comes spring again! and just like that, there are those leaves and flowers again! If I will stick with the purification process without giving up, if I will keep faith in myself, in God and in this auspicious time, then just like the tree, God promises to renew me. It’s just how it works! I WILL change into a fragrant flower, it is a guarantee.

‘If thorns surrender themselves to Me, I will make them into flowers. I am called Babulnath, the Lord who changes the thorns into flowers.‘, says the Father. ‘He takes the forest of devils and makes it into a deity garden. Only you become the masters of the new world.‘