Baba says, “Never remember the past or have any expectation of the future.”

Often times, I spend my life either living in the past or worrying about the future. When I have even just a few minutes of free time, there pop up on the screen of my mind, scenes from the past- that hurt, that betrayal, that mistake I made- or I dream up scenes that could occur in the future- the ‘what ifs’. Neither allows me to move forward, that is, move into the ascending stage in my life.

In fact given this is Ravan’s world, it is default to live life in the past or in the future. When I live in the past, I spend my days living offended, in shame, in self-pity, in bitterness, in guilt, blaming myself, or others or even God. When I live in the future, I live worried, anxious, stressed and peaceless. God comes and teaches me the knowledge of the drama where the underlying principle is: Whatever has happened is good, whatever is happening is better and whatever is to happen will be the best. When I truly imbibe this into myself, then I won’t live bitter or disappointed over the past nor will I worry about the future. I will simply enjoy every moment of the present with God as my constant Companion. I will live with faith in myself, in God and in the drama.

Every moment that has already occurred is drama- whether something happened 20 years ago or 20 mins ago, it is the past. No matter how hard I try, I cannot change the scene, I cannot erase it or delete it. But like in the movies, I can actually do a re-take. How? Because the scene will present itself again in my life at some point in the future. And the only way I can perform it well this time around is if I have (1) let go of the disappointment that I didn’t get it right before (2) have learnt from the experience such that I know what to do/what not to do next time around. This is called being a good actor or a good student. To be stuck in the past with thoughts such as: “Why did I make that mistake?”, “I am such a loser…”, “I failed again and it wasn’t even hard…”, “why did this happen to me…” is body consciousness. Mistakes teach me one of the greatest spiritual lessons- humility. I am not perfect, error-free, only God is. Till the end, I will make mistakes, that’s not the bad part. What counts is: Have I learnt from the past? or do I keep making the same mistakes because I am so stuck in the mistake that I don’t have the mind-space to learn what I need to and be prepared for the next take? In fact, true repentance is to learn from the past and become better. Then, I become a blessing to myself and to others. To stay down on myself helps no one because it keeps me where I am.

Sometimes, it’s not what I have done but what others have done that hurts me. It’s easy to live bitter but let me realize that bitterness is a root. It runs deep and pretty soon, there is a full blown case of unforgiveness. This is the most frequently used mechanism by Ravan to keep me from ascending. Yes, what they did was wrong, the hurt is real but by dwelling on it, I allow what hurt me once to continue to hurt me. God is here now and is giving me the opportunity to be His helper in the greatest task of world transformation. He comes only once in the whole cycle, this is a task that occurs only once in the whole cycle and so I receive this opportunity only now in the whole cycle. I can only avail of it if I stop living in the past. As far as my future is concerned, He is establishing heaven for me and making me the master of it. In fact, this is the task for which He has enlisted me as His helper. To the extent I help Him build heaven, I can experience being the master of heaven. That means that to the extent that I become fully present in the present, I will be engaged in this task and accordingly receive the reward. To live victoriously now and in the future depends on my being present in the now.

I am never defined by my past, I am prepared by it. I can emerge stronger, more experienced, with greater confidence if I am willing to skip the pits of guilt, shame, hurt, regret and keep myself available and open to learning. It is said: One can either be pitiful or powerful but never both. Living guilty and condemned doesn’t help anyone, let me learn to drop it and move forward. If I let go of the negative and wasteful baggage, then not only will I feel a huge weight lift off me but I will start to see the new things God is doing for me. I can only ascend when I am free; if I remain a caged bird even after God has opened the door, then that would be most unfortunate. Crying over what happened yesterday doesn’t bring freedom. Living in regret of what I should have/could have isn’t productive. Every day is a new beginning, a new gift I have been given. Let me quit living in the past or in the future, and live in the present moment. There is freedom only in the present moment. This moment is a new beginning, it already contains joy, peace and restoration no matter what the circumstance or situation I find myself in. When I remember God is in charge and that the drama is only beneficial, I unlock the moment and access its treasures of joy, peace and restoration. Being offended or worried keeps me in mediocrity, being peaceful in the midst of the storm, keeping my joy despite the circumstance- that’s victory.

Sometimes, I don’t just relive the past or worry about the future myself but I drag others into it as well: “Can you believe what they did to me!”, “You have no idea what I’ve been through?”, “What if this happens, what will I do?” etc. Whatever happened is in the past. If I truly want to be free, I don’t just drop it but I bury it and have a funeral for it. It’s gone forever. And that future scenario that I feel completely unprepared for, it’s true- I am indeed unprepared for it today. If/when it occurs two years or ten years later, I will be prepared to face it and do what’s needed. But I can only be prepared when I let go of the fear and anxiety and simply become present in the today where God is teaching me, preparing me. I can only learn when I am present and listening and imbibing.

Let me not cancel out the better and the best by living in the past, by looking backwards. If my mind is looking backwards, I cannot move forward; I will move in the direction of my mind. When I’m bitter, I push people away. When I’m offended, upset, holding a grudge, that pushes opportunities away. Let me let go, forgive, forget and embrace the new gift of today. “Never remember the past or have any expectation of the future. Constantly stay on the pilgrimage of remembrance of who you are, Whose you are and the drama. Don’t waste your time, use it in a worthwhile way in Godly service.” – these are God’s directions. By following God’s directions, you reach the sky; you reach the land of peace and the land of happiness.