Baba says, ‘O traveler of the night, do not become weary! The destination of dawn is not far off.’

The night of us travelers of the night, that is, of us Brahmins, is now coming to an end. At this time, when the Father comes, there is darkness in the world; the darkness of ignorance. When I come to Him, I sense the time of the first light of dawn; morning is about to come! The Father says: ‘Sweetest children, don’t become tired on the pilgrimage of remembrance.’ For half a cycle, I was body conscious and that made me very, very tired. It is tiring to be caught up in comparison and competition, to be bitter and resentful, to feel up one day and down the next, all the time. To become tired means to become body conscious. And so Baba says, ‘stay in remembrance, that is, become soul conscious.’ When I remember who I am and Whose I am, I feel easy and light because I realize I have attained all that I ever wanted; there is nothing more I need or want. I am full, content. When I forget, I am back in the darkness of ignorance- hustling and chasing and in the process, stumbling and falling.

‘To consider myself a soul and remember the Father is not like going to your aunty’s home’, says Baba. Indeed, it isn’t. When I am truly soul conscious, there is equanimity visible in my dharna. This is the main virtue I need in order to not become tired along this pilgrimage. That means I am stable whether there is praise or defamation, victory or defeat, happiness or sorrow. Even when there is a situation that outwardly looks non-beneficial, there shouldn’t be waves of sorrow experienced; instead, I remain unshakeable in my faith that this too is beneficial. While hearing defamation, rather than come into anger or bitterness, I experience it to be words that are there to make me stronger. This is the stage of true soul consciousness, a stage close to BapDada. There isn’t the slightest difference in my vision or attitude toward the one that praised or defamed me; I don’t like one more or the other any less. There is the attitude of a well-wisher and vision of a benefactor toward both. This is equanimity.

When there isn’t equanimity, then I have either impure arrogance or disheartenment and both bring me to a stop on my journey. One makes me think: ‘I know so much, I do so much’ and I stay where I am because I need more praise to keep me propped up. The other makes me feel ‘I am no good, no one likes me’ and I stop because I feel deflated. Tightrope walkers are known for their ability to balance themselves on the rope. As long as they maintain their balance, it is a wonder to watch them; the moment they lose balance, it’s a free fall. Here too, Baba says, balance is everything. To become intoxicated on hearing praise, to develop dislike on hearing defamation is not balance. To have balance is to be a detached observer and simply watch the scenes of the drama. Then, I experience wonders, I find it all very entertaining. I experience contentment in myself, others also become content with my actions. But when I lack balance, then time and energy are wasted, I lose the joy, happiness and contentment that is my birthright like I did half a cycle ago and feel weighed down.

Throughout the day, as I perform actions, let me check: am I being influenced anywhere? sometimes I get so action conscious that I forget all my dharna. My sole objective becomes to get the task done by hook or crook; if I have to get loud, show a little anger, then so be it! But, says Baba, this is not the soul conscious way. Here, I get to maintain my balance between karma and dharma (dharna). In the end, it won’t matter nor will anyone remember all the tasks I accomplished or how many centers I opened, but they will remember how I made them feel. Those are sanskars that will go with me in to the new cycle.

Similarly, I should be someone who enjoys solitude but also has an entertaining nature to the same extent. It shouldn’t be that now that I am a ‘yogi’, I become a recluse. This, Baba reminds me, is not hatha yoga or sannyas. This, is the family path. In fact, if I am in accurate remembrance, I will come closer to the family, become more loving…..because I would have learnt the art of true detachment, that is, the art of dis-entanglement. There is a lot of difference between the words ‘solitude’ and ‘entertaining’ but a truly soul conscious yogi, will know the art of balancing the two. The foundation of solitude is introversion and to be introverted is a virtue but to stay in my cave of introversion all the time is not. I should be able to withdraw like a tortoise, even in the midst of my activities, in a moment but then also be able to come out of my shell and lovingly engage in the next moment. Similarly, many think that to be a yogi means to remain an image of maturity and seriousness but they misunderstand what that means. Maturity, Baba explains, does not mean that I remain distant and don’t meet anyone. Anything in its extreme is not good, He points out; when something goes into its extreme, it is called a storm. The right way is to be mature and sensible at the same time.

‘So maintain a balance in this way‘, He teaches, ‘and you will not shake or fluctuate‘. When I don’t fluctuate, I don’t become tired. When I am not tired, I will not come to a stop and will instead enjoy this wonderful pilgrimage back home.