Baba says, “Hand over everything to the Father with your intellect. Have the consciousness that you are being sustained by Shiv Baba’s sustenance.“

For half a cycle, I lived in God’s home, it was- obviously, heaven. What else would God build for His beloved children? It was – obviously, the land of liberation-in-life. Then, for the second half of the cycle, I lived in Ravan’s home- obviously, hell. It has been – obviously, the land of bondage. What happened, midway, that caused this complete shift from liberation-in-life to life in bondage? I forgot who I am and Whose I am and handed over everything I had received from the Father to Ravan. I forgot that all I had was given to me by my Father, I thought I received it from people and that I therefore had to please them, impress them, depend on them. I was thus tied into bondage. This is what Ravan does- he turns my face away from the Father and makes me believe I am on my own, that I have to fend for myself, that I have to hustle, strategize, manipulate for my share of the pie.

At this auspicious confluence the Father comes for His children and reminds me once again of who I am and Whose I am. “Hand over everything to the Father with your intellect.”, He says. “Have the consciousness that you are being sustained by Shiv Baba’s sustenance.“

Due to half a cycle of conditioning, I look to people or to a job as my source to sustain myself and my family. My job is what pays for my mortgage, enables me to put food on the table, send my kids to school, I think. If my boss wasn’t good to me, I wouldn’t be able to get that promotion, win that contract and then I wouldn’t have enough to pay those medical bills, or afford that car- I’d still be spending long hours at the bus stop. And so I do what it takes to keep it that way- I play up to people, compromise if I have to for a good break. But God, my Father, helps me realize that people are not my provider, He is. The job is not my provider, He is. If I don’t realize this, then that’s when I make people, jobs and contracts my God and place them on my heart-throne. I tie myself into bondage with them.

Yes, the salary does come through my company, but it came from my Father. He’s the One that got me the job, He’s who caused them to hire me. He’s the One that causes me to stand out, gives me that ‘brilliant idea’ that wins me recognition and promotions. Yes, He uses jobs and contracts but He is the One who gets everything done. He is my one Strength and one Support; there is nothing and no one else. But if I don’t understand this, then I continue to live in bondage, in the cottage of sorrow, thinking: “If this supervisor doesn’t like me, if this contract doesn’t get renewed, how am I going to make it?” Let me liberate myself from the cottage of sorrow by understanding deeply that I am being sustained by my Father practically at this time. He has adopted me and taken me back from Ravan and made me belong to Him again. I am grateful to the people that have been good to me, grateful for the contract, but they are not on my heart-throne, only the Father is.

If a contract abruptly ends, that’s okay; it’s because my Father has something else in store for me. The medium might change, but the Provider is still the same and on my side. He has already thought of things that I’ve never thought of. As long as I hold onto Him steadfastly, I won’t have a problem. I will stay liberated-in-life. Similarly, I want to do a lot of service, Baba has given me the talent but the instrument teacher at the center doesn’t seem to like me very much. She seems to prefer those that stay close to her, pander up to her, offer more financial support…whatever. If I think that I am now set back, at a disadvantage, too bad for me, start wondering if I should perhaps change to a different center etc., then I haven’t understood who is in-charge. My Father is the Fortune-Maker, not the instrument teacher. He is here now, practically and is sustaining, teaching and guiding me. He is not bound by my circumstances, by who does or does not like me, by who is boss etc. He has ways to ensure His children get the opportunities they need to make their fortune.

“Have no attachment to anything. Offer everything to Him and eat according to His orders and everything will become pure and you will become ever healthy.“, says Baba.

And that is the key- to the extent that I have surrendered my intellect to Him and accepted Him as my Father, my Provider, my Benefactor, my one Strength and one Support, to that extent, I will be liberated in life and therefore ever-healthy. Otherwise, I will continue to live stressed, confused, struggling, running from pillar to post to find salvation. And so all through the day say ‘Baba, Baba’, teaches Baba, and your yoga will remain linked to Him and you will remain ever-healthy. This does not mean I keep chanting ‘Baba’ all through the day, rather it means that I remain aware and recognize that He is the Sustainer of my life. That He is the One putting food on the table, ensuring that I receive that paycheck and that the kids are taken care of. Same thing at the center. If I am not the instrument teacher’s favorite, I don’t have to stop attending Murli or wonder if I am welcome for Brahma Bhojan. The Father is the one teaching me, it’s His Murli and the Brahma Bhojan is also from His kitchen. They are therefore my birthright.

But sometimes, I have selective remembrance. I remember that God is my Father and so therefore the Provider but I forget the part about being the child and therefore the follower of the Father’s directions. If I simply think: ‘I am the Father’s anyway’ and go about living life my way. That doesn’t work. There has to be fulfillment of the relationship- a child obeys the Father’s directions, keeps Him first in its life.

In this world of Ravan and at this point in the cycle, every good thing comes only from the Father. Yes, people may have been good to me but He’s the one that gave them that desire to be good to me, to stay late and introduce me to that client, to put the loan through, to give me that position. If I reflect back on my life, I will find that what I thought was a coincidence, that people were wanting to be good to me- I realize that it was the Father taking care of things. Those doors that I couldn’t open myself that then suddenly opened, somebody decided to give me a break, I was at the right place at the right time – that was the Father. He knows whose intellect to touch to ensure that I, His child, gets the co-operation I need, that I get the service opportunities He wants me to have.

God is my Father, having attained Him, I have attained everything. Let me deeply understand this truth and become the child, the trustee. “Because you offer whatever you have to Shiv Baba, you are being sustained from Shiv Baba’s treasure store.”, explains Baba. To become the trustee is to offer Him everything. I take His guidance at every step and He sustains me at every step. The Father says: “I come in order to grant salvation and liberation to all. There is only the one Father who has mercy for all. What mercy does He have? He gives shrimat. By following it you will become elevated, that is, the masters of heaven. It all depends on how much you follow these directions. He doesn’t give you any other difficulty such as doing hatha yoga or stumbling to pilgrimage places. Wherever you are, you have to live at home with your family and follow shrimat.“