Baba says, “Children, follow the undivided directions you receive from the Father.”

For half a cycle, I was a self-sovereign; I ruled over my senses- both physical and subtle. Ruling power doesn’t mean that I think, speak and do what I want, where I want and however I want. But actually, ruling power means that I think, speak, and do the right thing, the elevated thing, the royal thing that is becoming of a child of God. To do whatever I want based on ‘how I feel’, or ‘what I think’ is what most people in today’s world do; they live, decide, and choose based on their feelings or based on what they think is right or based on what the ‘experts’ think is right. No wonder people are exhausted because there are so many feelings and so many opinions! In fact, there are as many opinions as there are people. Each one has a perspective, and an explanation for why what they believe is the right thing.

“This is called stumbling in the dark“, explains Baba. When it is dark, one cannot see clearly and so one stumbles and falls. For half a cycle, there was the light of knowledge, then as I forgot that I am a soul and became body conscious, I became engulfed in the darkness of ignorance. As I ‘did what I believed in’, I thought I was being empowered but as it turned out, my choices and decisions didn’t always bring me happiness or fulfillment or power. Often, in fact, I was left with the consequences of my wrong choices, feeling powerless and disheartened. All this after having spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking about what I should do in the first place! ‘Should I do this or that?’, ‘is this right for me or that?’ Similarly, I believed it to be ‘my right‘ to ‘speak my mind’ and the result is for all the world to see.

When there is utter unrighteousness, incorporeal God, the Father, incarnates in the corporeal world and becomes my Companion to show me the way, to bring me back on track. First, He reminds me of who I am- a pure soul with divine qualities. But He doesn’t stop there! He fulfills the responsibility of companionship and shows me how to think, speak and act…practically…by placing the feet of His acts through the corporeal medium to demonstrate to me. By taking the support of the body of Brahma, He lives alongside me and shows me how to live righteously. “It is easy to follow and place your footsteps in His footsteps, isn’t it?“, asks Baba. He shows me the easiest path because He has seen how much I have wandered around and how disheartened and weary I have become as a result. “You became disheartened because you thought it was very difficult, that is why the Father shows you the easiest path.“, He explains. “Simply place your footsteps in His footsteps. To make you move, to make you go across, to fill you with power at every step and to remove your tiredness is the duty of your Companion. Just don’t place your footsteps anywhere else.“

To place my footsteps means to make the decision – Whatever the Companion says, however He makes me move, I will only move in that way. I will no longer use my own head because I have learnt by experience that to use my own head is to cry out in distress. And so, I verify every thought: “Is my thought the same as the Father’s?” In the world, if I copy someone else’s idea or thought, I am looked down upon. Here, the Father directs me to copy Him in every thought, and step. “Since you have found an easy, simple and clear path, simply follow it. Why do you go onto other paths?“, He asks.

Other paths, as I know from experience, are paths of waste thoughts and weak thoughts resulting from confusion over not knowing what to do. “By following the dictates of your own mind or those of others, you end up in a forest of confusion and, because of having so many thorns all around you, you aren’t able to come out of it even when you try.“, points out Baba. The thorns are: “What will happen now?”, “Why did this happen to me?”, “How can I overcome this?”, “Is this right or that right?” Everywhere I look, I only see thorns and this makes me scared, tired and disheartened. I then cry out for my Companion to come and save me. The Companion says: “Instead of placing your footsteps in My footsteps, why did you go onto another path? Since the Companion Himself is offering you His companionship, why do you leave that Companion? Why do you let go of your support and go off on your own?” Indeed, for half a cycle, I considered the body conscious self to be ‘smart’, when that didn’t pan out, I relied on the ‘smarts’ of others; I considered them to be my supports. “However,” points out Baba, “you have experienced whether they are true supports or quicksand. Did these dictates and opinions trap you or make you fall, or did they enable you to reach your destination?” And I have experienced this quicksand for not just this one birth but for 63 births! “Do you still want one or two more births?“, asks Baba, “Those who are deceived once should not be deceived a second time. Those who are repeatedly deceived are said to be unfortunate.“

Now, the most elevated, the Supreme Father, is giving the most elevated directions to His children. He, the incorporeal One, comes to the corporeal world just for this- to show me the way. For half a cycle, I have been following wrong directions based on body consciousness and the vices that come along with this consciousness. Now, God says: “I am not just your Father but I am also the Teacher and the Satguru of those who belong to Me.” Since He is the same One who is all three, I receive the same directions from the Father, the Teacher and the Guru. He is also my Friend…no matter what relationship I remember Him in, I receive the same directions or guidance. There is no confusion as to whose direction to follow, it is consistent and undivided. Even if I find a certain direction hard to follow because of a particularly hardended sanskar within me, He still doesn’t change His mind about what I need to do! He tells me the same thing: ‘Forgive them’, ‘let it go’, ‘keep your peace’, ‘be patient‘…

You say: “Shiv Baba, we have become Yours through the mouth of Brahma. You make a promise: I am Your and I will always remain Yours. Baba also says: You are Mine. Now, follow My undivided directions.” When I do, He guarantees that I will become a self-sovereign again, a master of the world again, the most elevated Lakshmi and Narayan again.