Baba says, “This is a school. You children know that you study easy Raj Yoga with the Supreme Father, the Supreme Soul, in order to change from an ordinary man into Narayan and an ordinary woman into Lakshmi.”

Raja yoga is the study of becoming the king of kings. It starts with understanding who I really am, becoming the king of the self and then becoming the king of the world. On day 1 of this study, I learn that I am a soul, not the body. I, the soul, have taken many births throughout the cycle of time and have therefore donned a different body each birth. I am a resident of the faraway land, the sweet silence home, where I reside with my Father, the Supreme Soul. I am an actor and so I come down to the physical plane to perform my role in the unlimited drama of the world. I learn that I am no ordinary actor, I am an all-round actor whose scenes start at the very beginning of the drama and go on till the end; I am present throughout the drama. I also learn that now, the drama is coming to an end, these are the last few scenes before the curtain falls. The next showing will start soon and so I have just enough time to return home before I have to come back down again. Understandably, I am tired; it’s a long drama and I’ve been on stage a long time but I am also excited because in these last few scenes, I get to play my role alongside the Director Himself who is also the Principal Actor. And what’s more, He isn’t just the Director and Actor, He is my Father!

While He is incognito for a lot of the drama, behind the scenes, so to speak, it is only now that He appears onstage and plays His role visibly. And He has the best scenes in the whole drama. The world is hell when He comes into the drama, His role is to transform hell into heaven! And I, out of all the billions of souls, get to play the role of His helper in this task. I was chosen because I know the drama fully- from the beginning. I was in the drama when it was heaven and so I have the information in me to perform this role of transformation well. “This is known as the discus of self-realization“, teaches Baba, “you should constantly spin this discus in your intellect.“

Another key point, I was also chosen because I am a fine actor. To be a fine actor doesn’t mean that I never make mistakes. Rather it means that I have a mind that is turned toward to the Director, that keenly follows His directions for my every step. It means that when I do occasionally mess up, I quickly course correct. It means that when a co-actor messes up their lines- speaks rudely or responds curtly or does not behave lovingly or isn’t very sweet, I realize that they have messed up and offer them co-operation by performing my bit perfectly. I don’t allow the scene to get messed up by also messing up my lines – replying rudely, getting angry, becoming frustrated etc. If my co-actor messes up, I don’t have to mess up too; to remain stable and continue to do what the Director has asked me to do is to offer them my co-operation. If I catch myself saying: “I didn’t mean to get angry but their behavior compelled me to…” or “I didn’t mean to say those things but I couldn’t keep quiet after hearing them say…” or “how many times do I have to keep being right when they get away doing wrong…”, then that is not called having a mind turned toward the Director, it isn’t called offering co-operation and it certainly isn’t being a fine actor. On the contrary, it shows that I have forgotten that this is a drama and that we are all actors. If an actor messed up, I don’t dislike the actor; rather I maintain good wishes that they get their act together quickly such that the drama is successful. “This is Raja Yoga“, Baba reminds me. To be subservient to others’ sanskars or to the atmosphere is not called being a king. To be able to play my role perfectly no matter what, to be able to carry the scene even if every other actor messes up, to have a clear line to the Director and be able to catch His promptings at all times is called being a ruler of the self, a king.

“The Father is teaching you and changing you from human beings into deities. Then, it depends on how much each one of you studies. Some will become kings and others will become subjects.“, He teaches. To be able to consider myself a soul, an actor and see others as the same is the foundation to success. If I forget this truth, I get entangled with others, with sanskars, within the scene etc. When I have a firm foundation, I play my role as a detached observer. Then it is easy to remain stable and rule over the inner kingdom as a self-sovereign. Self-sovereignty is the foundation for world sovereignty.