Baba says, ‘Donate all the old rubbish you have and you will become pure, charitable souls.‘

For half a cycle, I was in the captivity of Ravan. I forgot who I am and taking full advantage of this, Ravan robbed me of all my inheritance. I experienced a lot of sorrow through him and so I called out to the Father to come and liberate me. ‘Take me away from this sinful world to a place where there is peace..’, I said. God, the Father, came to do just that. He came and adopted me as His own child. I was living as an orphan and now, I received a new birth including a new name- child of God and a new family- God’s family. And thus, when I belong to God, I die alive to the old world.

When someone dies, all their stuff is given to a brahmin priest (karnighor). It’s as if that chapter has closed, they give away everything. Baba says, ‘I have now come to take a donation from you.’ Now that I’ve died to the old world, Baba says, ‘give me your old stuff. You won’t need it where you’re going. There, everything is new. Not just the physical things, but even the way you think, speak, act will be new.’ That doesn’t mean I do anything drastic like they do in bhakti where they threaten to take their own life or leave everything and go to the jungle. No! Baba says, ‘you must live at home and continue to take care of your household. Simply remove your attachment from the old.’

Theoretically, it shouldn’t be hard to do considering all the old stuff I had was causing me sorrow. And I have been promised new everything by none other than God Himself in return. And yet, I cling on to the old. Why? because I forget. Sure, I have the knowledge. Baba reminds me daily of my inheritance, of the new world etc. But simply hearing or even understanding something doesn’t bring change. Baba says, ‘All your rubbish is removed through the power of yoga. Rubbish is not removed by knowledge. All your rubbish is burnt away and your rust is removed by having remembrance.’

I have been clinging on the old stuff, however bad it might be, for half a cycle. Yes, I intellectually know that attachment causes sorrow and yet, that’s where I have found security and even happiness, however fleeting they might have been. I know greed is bad too but each time my limited desire was fulfilled, it did make me happy. So, simply knowing that they are vices and that I need to let go doesn’t do much when I have relied on them for a long time. For that, I need a removal expert. He says, ‘transfer everything to me.‘ I’m used to attaching myself to someone, let me attach myself to God. I’m used to wanting stuff, let me go to Him for it. I have relationships that I rely on, let me have all those relationships with Him. I don’t let go as much as I transfer. At this time, during this auspicious confluence age, God is bound in the drama to fulfill all my relationships, to fulfill all my pure desires, to be my one trust and one support. He comes especially for me, He is longing to be part of every tiniest aspect of my life, let me allow Him in.

He alone is the Supreme Surgeon and He alone has the cure for all my ailments. Let me tell Him everything that bothers me- lustful thoughts? selfishness? fear of rejection? anger? whatever it might be, let me go to the Father. There is no need for shame, or guilt, let me help Him help me by being open with Him. All I have to do is remember Him, He is just a thought away.

This is why Maya always interferes in remembrance because so much happens in remembrance- I donate to the Father and the Father donates to me in remembrance, purification takes place through the alchemy of God’s love during remembrance, I claim my inheritance through remembrance because remembering Him reminds me of who I am. And so as soon as I start to remember, Maya will try to distract me with things I need to do, thoughts of service, thoughts of customers or business, thoughts about relatives and friends, an old memory etc. But let me not give up, let me keep at it. As I keep chipping away little by little, my remembrance becomes more and more powerful. It’s just practice, Baba assures me. The more I remember, the more I will transfer and the more I liberate myself from the old world. The more I am liberated, the more I am in a position to be God’s helper in liberating others. ‘Remember your occupation’, says Baba. I am a Raja yogi and I am claiming my inheritance. Everything else that’s in the way needs to go.

The Father says: ‘Children, donate the five vices into My apron and I will fill your aprons for heaven.’