Baba says, ‘Only the children would become worthy of the inheritance.’ 

A child receives an inheritance from it’s father. If I am an orphan without a father, I am deprived of that inheritance as well as love and sustenance. There is little sense of home or a feeling of security in a hostile world. I am left to fend for myself, figure it all out on my own and as a result, often carry with me feelings of neglect, mistrust and betrayal.

To be an atheist is to be an orphan. To think God is omnipresent is also to be an orphan.

The term atheist doesn’t just refer to those who believe God doesn’t exist but it also refers to those who don’t know Him truly, as He is. In bhakti, there are many that believe that God is omnipresent- that He is in everyone and everything. ‘I am the Creator and you are My creation’, points out Baba, ‘so how can I be inside you?’ Not only is this belief of God’s omnipresence meaningless, it also immediately and effectively deprives me of His love, sustenance and inheritance. If He is in me, then there is no one to look to to take care of me, or to provide for me or to go to for help. There is no one to guide me or teach me. Then, there are others that believe that they themselves are God. Either way, they are deprived.

But atheism is not just limited to bhagats, it is prevalent on this path of knowledge too, says Baba. After half a cycle of being an orphan, God adopts me as His own child. He is always my Father but at this auspicious confluence age, He becomes my Father in a practical way. A moment before the adoption, I was a misguided nobody trying to survive. And the moment I am adopted, just like that, I receive a new name- child of God, a new life- a Godly life of righteousness and a new family- the Godly family. So far, it’s the same for all but then what I do with what I receive determines the rest of my journey.

‘Indeed‘, says Baba, ‘every single child is an heir but not everyone inherits.’

Some children come off the street into the palace and recognize the opportunity they have been given to make a new life for themselves. I realize and accept the fact that I am now the heir, that the Father’s business is now mine. So I spend every single moment observing and learning from the Father, emulating Him so that I can become a worthy heir. Then, there are others who also come off the street into the palace but they don’t quite fully embrace the new life, or appreciate the incredible turn in their fortune. I remain constantly pulled by the street, by the old life, by the attractions of name, fame and recognition, by sensual pleasures. I find the new life to be too much pressure, the destination too high.

The thing is that often, although I say the word ‘Baba’, I don’t quite full comprehend the fact that God is indeed my ‘Baba’, that He is indeed my Father. And so I’m surprised when I find God correcting me and teaching me! In the past, I didn’t have anyone correcting my bad behavior, confronting me about my wrong attitudes but then that’s not a good thing, is it? No correction is why I never had any peace or happiness and couldn’t figure out why! And so now, when my Father is correcting me, rather than feel condemned by it and think: ‘here we go, another thing wrong with me!’, I thank Him for showing me because I am tired of living in ignorance, hustling, mistreating people and not even knowing I was doing it.

The other misconception I often have is to think that just because I am now a ‘child of God’, I will no longer have any storms, or difficulties. And so when situations continue to come to me, I wonder what’s the point of being God’s child?! Here’s the point: my worst day with God will be exponentially better than my best day without Him. How so? because I am no longer alone, I now have my Father, Teacher and Guide with me every step of the way; because I now have guidance for what to do; because I now am taken care of. It’s entirely a different experience.

‘Only the children would become worthy of the inheritance’, says Baba. Just because I am a Brahmin does not automatically mean I fully inherit; it means I have the opportunity. But how much of the inheritance I claim from the Father depends on how much effort I am willing to put in which in turn depends on how deeply I appreciate the fortune of being God’s child. The Father asks: Lucky stars, do you believe that I am teaching you? are you listening? if I do believe and am listening, then I will want nothing more than to be a worthy heir and claim my full inheritance; the more I change, the more I will want to share my experience with others on the street and bring them into the home to their Father. I cannot help but serve because I know what it’s like to be out there on my own and I can’t bear to see my brothers in that state.

Throughout the cycle, there have been many souls who have played the role of my physical father; in some cases, I even sought gurus to play the role of a guide in my life. But none of them could fill the void in the soul because none of them were my true father. And so things kept getting worse and worse, the void kept getting bigger and bigger until now, at this great confluence, where the soul finally met it’s long lost and now found Father. Now, the soul wants nothing more because having found the Father, I have found my world; not just the earth but also the sky.