Baba says, ‘make a great deal of effort to remember the Father, because you have to become real gold.’

When I, the soul, was in the golden age, I was completely pure, that is, I was pure gold. It was indeed, the golden age! Then, slowly, my level of purity decreased. It was as if silver became mixed into me. What was once the golden age now became the silver age. I was part of the sun dynasty and then when silver became mixed into me, I was called the moon dynasty. Then, in the copper and iron ages, the alloys of copper and iron became mixed into me. The alloys of silver, copper, and iron that have become mixed into me are now removed with yoga.

Goldsmiths know this and the Father is the Supreme Goldsmith. Only He is called the Purifier. He removes everyone’s alloy and makes them into real gold. How? Gold is put into the fire. Without putting it into the fire, gold cannot be purified. God comes at this time and lifts me off the pyre of vice and seats me on the pyre of knowledge and remembrance. This is yoga, that is, the fire of remembrance, because it is only by having remembrance that my sins will be burnt away. Only His love is the alchemy that heals and transforms. It is only through the pilgrimage of remembrance that I will become satopradhan from tamopradhan. The Father says: “Do not remember bodily beings! While living at home with your families, don’t remember anyone except the one Father and you will then become the masters of the land of heaven.” This is the Father’s #1 shrimat. He tells me why and how I lost my purity and shows me the method to become pure again.

“Don’t ask Me for mercy and blessings”, He says, “you have to stay in remembrance, there is no other way.” This is individual effort, He points out, and this is where everyone become numberwise. Many children become tired on this pilgrimage. This happens because I forget the Father again and again and make myself alone. I cannot take this pilgrimage alone- I need the Father’s love to sustain me, I need the Teacher to teach me and the Guide to show me the way. As long as I am in remembrance, it is as if I am in the furnace and am being purified. Yes, it is scary but I am not alone; He is in the fire with me and when I come out the other end, the only things that burn are the strings of bondage that were holding me back. Those sanskars that had become strongholds and dragging me down, those attachments, those dependencies, those habits-these are what burn away and I come out unscathed, as real gold.

“Remember the Father and spin the cycle constantly in your intellect”, He teaches. When I do this, I stay in the awareness that it is now time to go home and then come into the golden age. This old iron age is now coming to an end whether I like it or not. Everyone now has to return home and no one can return home- to the land of purity and peace- without becoming pure. I can either become pure through following the Father’s shrimat of staying in remembrance or I will become pure the hard way through experiencing punishment. I usually start the day in the right awareness- I remember how elevated a soul I am, that I am the child of the Highest-on-High and that I am studying the most elevated study to become the master of heaven. But then as the day goes by, the alloy shows itself. “Your effort has to be golden aged. Your service too should be golden aged. Let there not be the slightest alloy of old sanskars.”, says Baba.

It is when I come into interaction with others, during service that I find out how pure the gold is. If there is arrogance or disrespect in service, that is alloy. For example, to think: “My idea, my plan, my service was so good and yet why was my idea not accepted?”, that is not being real gold. If there are feelings of jealousy, stubbornness or trying to prove myself right, that is alloy. “Finish that alloy and become those with golden aged natures”, says Baba. “You have to mold yourself according to the time and service, that is how you become real gold”, He teaches. I have to mold myself. If I think that I will mold myself if someone else molds themselves, then that is being stubborn. That isn’t being real gold. In my relationships, I must always have good wishes and pure feelings of benevolence for everyone. There have to be feelings of love and co-operation. “No matter what type of nature or motive someone has, let your feelings always be elevated. You must only give them blessings and receive blessings.”, He teaches. To bring about transformation in myself in this way, is called being real gold.

I often understand this, I even want to transform but at the time of bringing change, when that person or situation comes before me, I come into upheaval. I think its too hard. This is why, Baba reminds me daily to practice staying in remembrance. It is only through the fire of remembrance that I receive the power I need to bring about transformation. If I don’t have a stock of pure thoughts, feelings and good wishes, if I don’t have the natural awareness of who I am, then I will easily be influenced and fail. I cannot spend my day looking at others and thinking of others, that is, in wasteful extroversion and then expect to suddenly come up with pure thoughts when confronted by someone’s behavior. And so, Baba says, “pay attention to how you use your treasures of time and thoughts.” I need to accumulate.

Those who have the power to mold themselves are loved by everyone. They are easy in their thoughts. The moment there is the consciousness of “I and mine”, then I lose that easiness in thoughts; it means that alloy is mixed with it. So, when alloy is mixed into real gold, it doesn’t remain real any more. It is easy to bring about transformation in big matters- I’ve transformed my diet, my way of dressing, my lifestyle etc., no problem. But, says Baba, I need to understand the time and atmosphere in every situation, in every relationship and in every connection and then bring about transformation in myself. This, He explains, is what it means to be number one. To think: “she/he should also understand. They should also transform themselves. Why should I be the only one to transform myself?” is to go from number one to numberwise. “Let your effort be number one”, says Baba, “those who take the initiative are Arjuna.” Arjuna practiced his archery night and day. He wasn’t born great, he became great through practice. He didn’t wait for others to practice with him, He didn’t think: “Why should I be the one to carry the weight, let everyone practice a little”, he focused on what he needed to do and became the best. Here too, Baba says, be Arjuna. If I transform, that is a sign of being victorious.

“All you have to do is stay in remembrance“, He explains. “Remember Me while walking and moving around! For how long could you sit in a particular pose and remember Me? You have to stay in remembrance while moving around and doing everything. Even if you are ill, you can lie down and remember Baba. Remember Shiv Baba and spin the cycle, that’s all!” This is the furnace (bhatti) of God for making everyone pure, that is, for making everyone real gold.