Baba says, ‘In order to keep your mind and intellect busy, make a timetable for yourself.’

When someone wants to approach me but they see that I am very busy, they back off because they know that this is a bad time; they know they wouldn’t have my attention. Similarly, Maya cannot come to me when I am busy because she knows I don’t have time to receive her. It is said: ‘if I can win over the mind, then I have conquered Maya and therefore conquered the world.’ Indeed, the venue where life happens is the mind. If I can become someone who has rulership over the kingdom of the mind, I can become a self-sovereign now and a world sovereign in the future. And so Baba says, ‘just as you remain busy in serving physically and through words, similarly, set a full timetable for your mind. When your mind remains busy, you can easily become a conqueror of Maya.’

Secondly, in order to remain busy, I need to always pay attention to the study; ‘you should love studying from deep inside’, says Baba, ‘those who love studying from the depths are able to keep themselves and others busy.’ When I love doing something, I lose myself in that task, I am no longer even aware of what else is going on around me. It’s as if time flies by and I feel as if there just aren’t enough hours for me to do what I want to do. On the other hand, if I am doing something out of compulsion, if my interest in the task is just superficial, then I might be busy sometimes but other times, I am free. And when my mind is free, as the saying goes, it becomes the devil’s workshop; It becomes a magnet for waste.

Thirdly, Baba says, develop a planning intellect. Make a plan for yourself: ‘how do I want to spend today? what is my timetable for self-progress?’ and then also make another plan for service: ‘how can I give the Father’s message to everyone? what new method can I invent or use to deliver His message?’ When I have such a planning intellect, I have no time to waste, I remain constantly busy. But if I don’t use my intellect to plan and instead wait for someone else to tell me what to do, then I will again be free sometimes and busy sometimes. That’s not so good. Teachers, Baba points out, make plans for their students; here too, He says, ‘become your own teacher and make a plan for your intellect.‘

The Father’s direction is: ‘Spin the discus of self-realization and connect your intellects in yoga to the Father. By doing this, your sins will be absolved and your burden of sins will be removed from your head.‘

In my timetable, I need time for study and to plan/do service but take time throughout the day while doing these tasks to spin the discus of self-realization, teaches Baba. The knowledge opens my intellect, it shows me right vs wrong but it doesn’t burn away my sins. Neither does service. To unload the burden of half a cycle, I have to remember who I am and Whose I am; there is no other way. Only God’s love is the alchemy that changes iron to gold. Only His remembrance has the power to heal the broken heart and make it golden again. ‘You know your five forms, don’t you?‘, asks Baba, ‘do this drill throughout the day.‘

My first original form is that of a point of light; it is my lovely and sparkling form. The second form is the deity form. That too is such a lovely and unique form. The third form is that of the middle, the worthy-of-worship form. The fourth form is the confluence aged Brahmin form, my most elevated form. Finally, the fifth form is the angelic form; I become the conqueror of attachment and an embodiment of remembrance. All these forms are lovely, points out Baba. ‘Do this exercise or drill daily and your mind will become constant and stable’, He teaches. The way to do the drill is not simply to look at the forms in front of me but also to experience them. For example, when I remember my form of being a point of light, then I detach myself from the body and experience myself as that point in the home with the Father. I experience that peace, that silence and my pure form as the master, the soul. I don’t have to do all five forms each time but let me pause every 30 minutes to experience any one of the forms. ‘It won’t take you more than two to three minutes’, points out Baba, ‘is there anyone who doesn’t even have two minutes?’

‘Keep your mind busy in this spiritual exercise because with this exercise, your mind will always remain good and healthy‘, He explains. You have done this drill every cycle, it’s not hard to do, He says. Besides, He reasons, it shouldn’t be hard to bring your own form in front of you! As I bring each form in front of me, I take the time to experience its specialty. Sometimes, I want to do the drill but the mind runs in different directions. Instead of concentrating my mind on one form for as long as I want, wasteful or incorrect thoughts also enter. Turns out the quality of those two to three minutes depends on the quality of the rest of 16 waking hours of the day. If I’ve allowed myself to become loose and gossip or watch/read things that aren’t useful etc., then when I try to remember Baba, those wasteful things will instead pull my attention toward them. And so, Baba says, ‘pay attention throughout the day.‘ That doesn’t mean I get tensed or stressed about paying attention; rather, it’s a natural alertness that I keep.

Repeatedly perform this drill and you will become intoxicated while doing your work because the Father’s mantra is manmanabhav, He reminds me. With this mantra and the experience of the mind, my mind, Baba explains, will become a weapon with which to conquer Maya rather than a workshop for Maya. As time progresses, it will become more and more important to be able to put a stop in a second, and this exercise will help me with that. My mind will be saved from anything wasteful or incorrect.

BapDada says, ‘Throughout the day you do such big business! Through the study and remembrance, you earn multimillions at every step. You cannot do such business at any other time throughout the cycle. So, keep busy and earn for the full cycle.’