Baba says, ‘Success is merged in every step of those whose natures are pure and gentle.’

Success means growth or increase. In the spiritual sense, Baba says, success means self-progress, that is, there is an experience of success easily through my method of making effort. There is never doubt of: ‘I don’t know whether this will happen or not’, ‘will I be able to do this or not’. There is no battling or fear. There is just easy effort.

That level of easiness and lightness in effort can only come when there is purity and gentleness in my nature. I don’t do something to ‘prove’ myself, I don’t do something to ‘win’, or to ‘fit in’ or due to any other body conscious need. I do something because it is what Baba has asked me to do and I know therefore, that He will also give me the tools and the ability to do it. This is His task, He is getting it done through me; I am simply the instrument. That instrument consciousness takes out all the junk of body consciousness- the heaviness that comes from the impure attitudes of competition, comparison, desire of a specific outcome, a desire to show off etc. and enables me to simply learn and grow. If I fall, like a little child, I simply get back up and try again. I am not consumed by the thoughts of: ‘oh no! what will others think of me now…, I am such a failure…, I wish I had never done this etc etc.’ I am also then open to working with others, using their expertise rather than wanting to do everything myself.

And so a pure and gentle nature is foundational to being a star of success. A few characteristics of such a nature are:

1. I don’t have trouble admitting that I am not the best at everything—or anything: No matter how talented I am, for one, those are talents I received from Baba, they are not ‘mine’. If I think they are mine, then it is already adulterated. But in addition, there is always someone else who can do something better than I can. To be able to recognize the limitations of my ability and collaborate with others enables me to have success in every task, at every step.
2. I don’t have trouble recognizing my own faults: It’s a lot easier to judge others and quite painful to look at myself when I am body conscious. And as with anything body conscious, it is completely unproductive and in many cases harmful- it brings strife in relationships and prevents new ones from forming. But the worst is that it prevents me from improving myself. Baba says, ‘this is the Godly student life’. The definition of a student is that I am still learning and I will continue to learn till the very end of my life. This attitude enables me to continue to grow and see success merged at every step.
3. I am grateful for what I have: When I am successful at a project, then yes, the fact that I put in a lot of effort into the project had something to do with it; but the key is to recognize that there was more to it than that. First, it was the Father getting it done, it was His power. Then, there was all that co-operation and support I received from others. To have arrogance of ‘my success’ is to close the door on future success. Baba says, ‘one who is truly a star of success will not speak about their success, they don’t sing their own praise, but to the extent that they have success, they are humble, creative and gentle. Others sing their praise but they always sing the Father’s praise.’ It is also a sign of a pure nature to appreciate and thank others for the role they played in my success. Then, I will always receive co-operation at every step and success at every step.
4. I am not afraid to make mistakes: Part of a pure and gentle nature is to acknowledge that I will make mistakes on this journey and so will everyone else. This lifts the heavy burden off me. This doesn’t mean I become lazy or careless but rather it means that I am not afraid to try new ways to do things. When I make a mistake, I don’t condemn myself, shame or reject myself; I simply learn from the mistake and move on. Same with others- I show them the same mercy I show myself; in fact, Baba teaches, I can only show others mercy when I am first merciful toward myself.
5. I am also not afraid to admit mistakes: It takes courage and faith to be able to admit to my mistakes. Sure, there is the fear that I may make others angry or frustrated but it is always better, Baba says, to admit to a mistake rather than to cover it up. Admitting shows others that I am not stubborn, or selfish. Rather than be angry, they will respect me more.

Now, says Baba, especially underline having a pure and clean nature. No matter what happens, your nature should always remain pure and clean. This pure and clean nature is a sign of humility. Those who are to attain success keep themselves humble, gentle and also pick up virtues from everyone.