Baba says, “According to the present time, there are human parrots as well as human pigeons. Whatever people say at this time, it is all useless.“

The Father is Rup-Basant, that is, He is the embodiment of the knowledge that He then showers on others. This is why the words spoken by God have power inherent in them. It cannot be that God speaks and nothing happens. His word is sharper than the sharpest sword, it can break the toughest bondages that are holding me down. His words are the life-giving herb that brings the unconscious back into consciousness. I might come in dragging on the inside and the outside but when I receive His words into my heart, I will leave full of hope, zeal and enthusiasm. His words therefore uplift the soul, make it alive again.

The question is how good of a receiver am I? The Father is showering me with the jewels, each worth multi-millions. Am I good at adorning myself with them? “Study well“, says Baba. Simply to attend class each morning is not studying. Do I come to class each morning like a Chatak bird who ignores all things worldly and quenches my thirst directly through the rain of knowledge from God? Do I realize deeply that each word that the Father speaks is for me? or do I think He is speaking to the class in general? No! He is my Father and He is speaking every single version to me directly, personally in public. When I have this firm faith, then I will take each point and apply it in my life. Maybe I don’t catch everything all at once when I hear it but that’s why Baba says to go back and read the Murli again and again and again until I get what He is telling me and realize how it applies to me- in what way, in what situations. Then, I experiment with the point in my life until I’ve perfected it, that is, made it a sanskar. This is how I become Rup, the embodiment of knowledge. This is also what is called ‘studying’. Then, when I step out into the world, I won’t even have to speak much, my very being showers others with the knowledge I have imbibed. My forehead, my eyes, my face, my attitude, my behavior…everything will visibly show the knowledge I have adorned myself with.

If all I do is sit in class, fiddling with my phone, allowing my mind to wander to my to-do list, waiting for the class to be over, then I cannot become Rup. When asked, I say: “Of course I listened to the Murli. But I’ve heard it all before…” No matter how many times I have heard that same point, if I am really ‘studying’, I will go deeper and deeper into that point, peel another layer off and discover a new lesson. But when all I do is ‘hear’ the knowledge superficially, then, I am able to teach the course, even give great lectures on various topics by repeating the points I’ve ‘heard’ like a parrot, However, my words don’t strike the hearts of souls because they are not based on personal experience, they are not based on personal transformation. They are just intellectual, theoretical points that travel from my head to theirs; they don’t transform hearts. Sometimes, I don’t even bother to come to class regularly, I think of this as just another satsang that I can go to when I feel like it. So I go once a week or twice a month to soak in the atmosphere and then go right back to my way of living. Such souls aren’t even able to repeat the points since they weren’t even there to listen in the first place. They are good with telling others: “Yes, yes, they do really good work. You too should definitely join” but if the other were to ask them: “that’s great! so what did they teach you today?”, they wouldn’t know what to say. Baba says, “According to the present time, there are human parrots as well as human pigeons. A parrot can be taught to repeat something. Pigeons cannot learn anything.”

Sometimes, I say that I do want to study but that there’s just not enough time. That’s a lie. That’s Maya deceiving me. “It has been explained to you children“, Baba says, “that Maya is very powerful. She will prevent you from having remembrance and will continue to create obstacles. She will turn your faces away from Baba.” At this point in the cycle, I am most fortunate if I have been adopted by God. And there is nothing more important I can do with my time than spend it in learning what He is teaching me. This is the only time I can study in the whole cycle, i.e. create my fortune for the whole cycle. Why would I not find time to do this! Maya is great at getting me busy in things that are far less important, however, says Baba, “you have to make full effort and become strong mahavirs. You should have such yoga that Maya can never shake you.” When I become Rup-Basant like the Father, I become His helper in the task of world transformation. But it has to work in that sequence- Rup first, i.e. self-transformation first which then leads to Basant- world transformation.