Baba says, ‘Those who are honest do not just keep aside the wealth they receive. The sign of an honest soul is that he increases the treasures.’

Baba came at this auspicious confluence age and adopted me as His own child, He made me an heir of everything He owns. A father sees his children, his heirs as the stewards of his legacy, as those who will further his name in the world through their good works, and will grow what he has given them. It’s like a boss who entrusts the management of his company to his valued employee. He expects the employee to care for, invest well and grow the value of the company – show profit and progress.

Similarly Baba has entrusted me with great treasures- the treasure of thought, powers and virtues. Even the body, mind and physical wealth are treasures given to me by the Father; they don’t belong to me, I am the trustee. My duty as His child, as His trustee is to use these treasures to further His legacy- to live by His values of love, kindness, mercy and forgiveness. His very name is Shiva, the Benevolent One. My duty, therefore, is to ensure that my every thought, word and action is benevolent, that is, like the Father. He is the Purifier, the Liberator Who comes to purify impure souls and liberate them from sorrow. My duty as His heir is to use my time, wealth and energy to give His message to every soul, to His long lost children. It is my job to be the person that inspires others to come to the Father and claim their inheritance.

To be God’s helper, His heir is an incredible honor and equally an awesome responsibility, one the Father expects me to take seriously. This is also what it means to be a hero actor. A hero is one who benefits many, many souls. What God gives me, He expects to see flow through me to others. A wise and faithful child or trustee will be faithful with the Master’s treasures and take care of what they’ve been entrusted with but even more, they will find ways to grow and improve it. ‘How can I apply my time, money, body and abilities that the Father has given me to further His task, to glorify His name?’, this is my only concern and motivation for everything I do.

Sometimes, I think: ‘but I don’t have a lot of time like others do. I have a family, kids, a job…I barely have time to breathe let alone to serve!’ Perhaps it is time to check: have I been trying to work God into my schedule? or would it be wiser to build my schedule around God? If I am going to continue to prioritize the same things that people in the old world prioritize, then what use is it to have known God and received His knowledge? Let me revisit my schedule and put God first. Sometimes I look at others and shrink back thinking: ‘but I don’t have that kind of talent…I can’t give lectures or sing. Neither do I have a lot of money to contribute..’ God never asks or expects me to do more than what I have been entrusted with. He doesn’t need me to do any unnatural things to acquire wealth to contribute, neither has He said that lectures are the only way to serve. What He is looking at is: how am I using what I have been given. Every single soul has at least one specialty, says Baba. Maybe I can cook or paint or even just smile. Am I using it to serve His task or simply using it for myself or not using it at all? I may not have physical wealth but am I buzzing the knowledge He has given me to members of my family, of my community etc.? Maybe not through speeches but through my own behavior? In other words, am I doing all I can to serve?

The only way to increase what I have been entrusted with is to use it. Even if it is one seemingly ordinary talent or virtue, the more I use it, the more it grows. Using something allows me to hone it, gain confidence and compels me to think of even more ways in which to use it. When Baba sees me being faithful with whatever- big or small- that I have been given, He will entrust me with more. Why? because now, I have built trust with Him. I have demonstrated that I am trustworthy, loyal and reliable. Big or small, I made whatever I was given by the Father, count. I invested it and grew it. Now, He trusts me with more.

God seats on His heart-throne those heir children that surrender themselves to His task, who mold their lives based on His directions. For the children that still haven’t recognized Him, taken the knowledge and continue to stumble in the old world, He has mercy and sympathy. But what He doesn’t appreciate are those children who have recognized Him, taken the knowledge and yet do nothing with the immense opportunity they have as His child. If I continue to squander away my breath, my time, my thoughts, my money, energy and resources on ordinary and wasteful things, when the majority of my brothers and sisters are still struggling out in the world, then that is unforgiveable. I know God but I am living as if I don’t even know He exists. I may go to the center daily, wear my white clothes and badge, attend class and all the rest, but my inner state is one of indifference or complacency. I claim to be a Brahmin, a child of God but my heart is unchanged. This, God says, is hypocrisy and the most dangerous thing to the world. Why? because others see me and either think: ‘she’s no different from me, I guess there’s no God here…’.

It is said: The Lord is pleased with an honest heart, not perfect outward behavior. The sign of an honest soul, Baba explains, is that he does not waste anything that the Father has given them. I will keep in my awareness, the value of this precious life that I’ve been given at all times. And I will use it- body, mind, wealth- as a trustee for the Master’s task. So check, He says: ‘am I being a good steward of what belongs to the Father? Am I growing His investment? or am I carelessly squandering away my time, talent and opportunities?’ The answer will determine if I am able to be seated on the Father’s heart-throne now and on the throne of the world in the future.