Baba says, “If your sanskars are tight, circumstances will also become tight.”

When I wear loose comfortable clothes, it is easy, effortless, to take them off or put them on. But when I wear tight clothes, it takes effort, its not as easy and often times, I am happy when I am finally out of those tight clothes and have put on more comfortable clothes. It feels like I can breathe again! This body too is the costume or the clothes the soul wears. When I, the soul, came down from the sweet home to play my part on this physical stage, I came bodiless. I’ve since taken many bodies or many costumes -one in each birth- to play my part on this stage. The drama is now coming to an end and it is now time to return home; my Father is here to pick me up for the ride back home. However, I have to return just as I arrived– bodiless. The costume belongs to this physical world, it isn’t mine. I have to leave it behind and return bodiless. And so, the practice I need is to renounce the awareness of the body and become a point, in a second- anytime, anywhere. The longer I have this practice, the easier it will be to leave.

Just as with physical clothes, if the awareness of the body is tight, then it will be difficult to renounce in a second. My awareness should be such that I should be able to easily remove the costume of the body and also be able to adopt it just as easily at the right time.

If the costume of the body is stuck to some sanskar, that is called tightness. Otherwise, it is easy to take off and put on. My effort is to become detached and observe which sanskar it is that the costume of the body is stuck to. When I become detached from all sanskars, my stage will become detached. This is why BapDada explains many times: “Remain easy in everything.” When I remain easy, all tasks become easy. When I make myself tight, there is tightness in the task as well. To have expectations of other people- of how they ought to behave, how they ought to do something etc. is to become tight. When those expectations are inevitably not met, then I become angry, frustrated, disheartened etc., these are signs of tightness. To get into questions of: “Why did they do this?”, “this isn’t fair!”, “can they do this?” is a sign of tightness. Similarly when a circumstance comes, to feel worried, stressed, anxious is a sign of tightness. I think it’s natural to be worried, it feels as if I’m doing something. But really, the more worried I get, the tighter the awareness of the body is. When I am soul conscious, I rely on the one Father completely. He is the Protector and Benefactor, I am His child. He is in-charge of my life. I am carefree and I continue to be able to remain cheerful even in the midst of the storm.

Often, I find it hard to face my own darkness. I sometimes have thoughts that I didn’t have before coming to Baba, I find myself saying things and behaving in ways I didn’t think I was capable of. Immediately, I get embarrassed and reject myself: “I am such a mess”, “if anyone finds out what kind of person I am…”, “Baba must be do disappointed in me”, “I am going backwards, maybe I’m not a Brahmin after all”. The Father has already told me that this is the time of purification, He has come as the Purifier to do this exact task. The fact that these sanskars are coming out is a sign that He is working on me. So no, He isn’t disappointed in me, He knows me and is helping me get rid of the illnesses inside me. But when I am body conscious, I don’t recognize and realize this, I instead become tight.

Sometimes, I am attached to certain physical facilities or things of comfort. If my accommodation is not to my liking, if my food is not according to my liking, if I don’t get my coffee right on time and just how I like it, if I don’t get my paper on time, if I miss my workout one day etc. etc., then my mood changes and even if I don’t say anything outwardly, I am uneasy and complaining internally. This too is tightness. Baba says, “always experience whatever you are receiving to be very good and remain easy.” In fact, in bhakti, I had said: “Baba, when You come, I will surrender myself to You. I will eat whatever You feed me, I will sit wherever you make me sit, I will do everything as You say…”. So now that the Father is here, He reminds me, it is time to follow through on that promise.

His shrimat is “Become bodiless. It is now time to return home. By remembering Me and the sweet home, you will come to Me.” My final thoughts lead me to my destination. If I want my final thoughts to be of the Father, then nothing else can remain, nothing else can distract me from Him. Having lived in the expansion of body consciousness for half a cycle, it will take practice over a long period of time to shed all that expansion and stabilize myself in the essence; to become the point. I have only this short time of the confluence age that is left to do this practice and so there is not a second to lose! Baba says, “check your costume, is it stuck on any sanskar? is it tight?” It’s time to loosen up, that is, make my sanskars easy.