Baba says, ‘Sins are committed out of body consciousness. You guarantee that you will break away from everyone else and connect yourselves to the One. Now fulfil that promise.’

When the Father is forgotten, there is sin committed. And when there is influence of sin, the intellect cannot imbibe knowledge. No matter how much someone tries to explain something at that time, I think what I am thinking or doing ‘is right’. And so Baba says, ‘don’t commit any sin at this time of settlement. Sins are committed out of body consciousness’.

When I am body conscious, I see, think, talk and do everything in terms of ‘I and mine’. Body consciousness is the reason I have arrogance about knowledge: ‘I know…’ or ‘my talent’, or ‘my ideas’ or ‘my virtue’. When I am soul conscious, I consider all the treasures to be gifts from God- nothing limited is ‘mine’; I only have the unlimited mine, ‘mine is one Baba and none other’. This is all that the soul wants and has been seeking for half a cycle- a union with the Beloved. If I am stuck in the limited, if I find myself chasing or wanting anything limited – be it things, accomplishments, relationships, whatever, then it is a sign that I am in the wrong consciousness.

And so the greatest renunciation of this time is that of body consciousness, says Baba. It is the root of all vices and therefore of sin. This is also the hardest renunciation because when I renounce any physical thing, I can step away from it but in the case of body consciousness, I have to remain in the body, still continue to take support from it at every second and also be detached from it at the same time. It’s a bit of spiritual acrobatics but it’s a practice that pays huge dividends. The more I renounce, the more fortune I receive not just for the future, but for right now. In fact, the greatest fortune is what I receive right now- the Fortune-Maker Himself belongs to me, God Himself belongs to me! As long as I am in body consciousness, I cannot remember the Father, I cannot experience a close relationship with Him. But when I become soul conscious, at every second of renunciation, I experience all relationships and all powers from the Father. The future fortune is tied to this present fortune, Baba reminds me.

And so Baba says, ‘renounce the false I and mine and become soul conscious’. Don’t say ‘mine’, say ‘Yours’. To consider what I have been entrusted with by God as mine and use what is meant for service for my own pleasure, is a sin. ‘Don’t have such false intoxication’, cautions Baba. It is being arrogant and disrespectful to God. Don’t ever forget the word ‘Baba, Baba’, He says. Baba has given power, He has given the intellect, it is His task, His center; everything belongs to Him. Remember the first promise you made to the Father for your Brahmin life when you became a Brahmin, says Baba. It was: This mind, body, intellect and wealth are all Yours. Now, He says, fulfill this promise.

For the mind and intellect, the mantra is Manmanabhav! Immerse yourself in the Murli, says Baba, it will strengthen the intellect by giving it the compass to discern right from wrong. Throughout the day, while going about your tasks, practice keeping your intellect connected with the Father. Your hands may be busy but your intellect should be with the Father. Check this, He says, by pausing in the midst of your tasks and reviewing your thoughts. Are they about the Father and His knowledge or something else? Use every treasure you have received from the Father – the virtues, the talents, the wealth etc.- as a trustee, for the Father’s task. Then, the wastage will stop and it will continue to increase.

It is now your stage of ascent, Baba reminds me. This stage only comes once, now, in the entire cycle, so don’t waste it. Follow Baba’s shrimat at every step. Continue to renounce body consciousness.