Baba says, “Each of you children should be like Father Brahma in your renunciation, tapasya and service. You have to follow Father Brahma.” 

Tapasya means that the soul says, “I am Yours and You are mine.” This is called tapasya, explains Baba. With the power of this tapasya, I have made the Bestower of Fortune Himself belong to me. The Father, the Bestower of Fortune, also says: I am yours. This is how elevated my fortune is! Not too long ago, on the path of bhakti, I had said again and again, “I am Your slave, I am Your slave.” Indeed, when I think back, I can’t help but say: “Baba, it is Your wonder! We didn’t know anything. We were not worthy of meeting You.” The Father came and said: My children and slaves! You are the children of the Almighty Authority, and so does it suit you to be slaves!? Instead of “I am Your slave”, the Father gave me the experience of “I am yours”. So from a slave, I became a king.

“You don’t become a slave at any time even now, do you?“, asks Baba. Now that you have been reminded of who you are, the old sanskars of being a slave don’t still emerge, do they? Do you become slaves of Maya? A king can never be a slave, your slavery has finished.

In fact tapasya is to celebrate in pleasure. Tapasya means to sing and dance because the instant fruit of tapasya is happiness. I sing the praise of the Father and of my original and eternal form. No matter how big the task might be that I have been assigned, I don’t panic or get worried because I know the Father is in-charge. He is Karankaravanhaar, He will get it done through me; I am simply the instrument. It is His responsibility, not mine and so I remain light. When I become the child, I become His responsibility. Everything that I previously carried over my head as a burden, it is now His. I no longer have a household, I am a child and a child cannot be a householder! My relationships, my responsibilities, my job, my…etc. etc. is all His. When I become His, everything that was mine is also now His. I simply follow His directions. When there is a crisis, I no longer run from pillar to post, knocking on doors asking for help or advice, I trust the Father to take care of things, to advice me on what to do. He is my one Strength and one Support.

But this kind of tapasya is only possible when there is first tyag (renunciation). Father Brahma became the example of the foremost renunciation. Renunciation, Baba explains, means to renounce everything when you have everything. To renounce everything because I am fed up with the world or because of my problems or because I am now retired is not elevated renunciation. From the beginning, Brahma Baba had everything in terms of body, mind, wealth and relations and yet he renounced it all. He even renounced his body. Although there were all the facilities, he himself still lived in the old building. The facilities began to come from everywhere and although he could have had everything, he remained very firm in his spiritual endeavors. The tapasya that Brahma performed created the fortune of all the children.

When I too, like Brahma Baba, offer my body, mind and wealth to the Father because I have made myself belong to the Father as His child, then that is renunciation which becomes the foundation for my tapasya. Because when I am the child, I will follow the Father’s directions for everything. I will go to the Father for everything. The Father is my world. That is tapasya. When there is tyag (renunciation) and tapasya, service happens automatically. My every thought, word and action which is now per the Father’s directions automatically serve. I become merciful, I am able to let go, I am able to remain unshakeable in the midst of storms, I am able to remain faithful in every thought, I am able to remain stable in praise and defamation, I am able to have loving relationships without attachment….I transform. And my self transformation brings about world transformation by inspiring transformation in others, and in the atmosphere.

And so to belong to the one Father and none other is the greatest tapasya and those who remain stable in such a stage are great tapaswis. The power of tapasya is remembered as the greatest power. Hatha yogis do tapasya while standing on one leg. However, I don’t stand on one leg but I maintain the awareness of One. I belong to the One. Such tapasya, Baba says, will transform the world. Therefore, He says, become such world benefactors, that is, become great tapaswis.