There will often be resistance from those around you because you are now transforming, and transformation is not an easy process for either the person in the throes of that transformation or for those who are close to the individual. You are becoming somebody else, somebody better, but that change might not be palatable to everybody or a few from the inner circle. But you have to evolve into a better human being and for that if you have to take decisions which could even be harsh, so be it, do it gracefully and with compassion. The Shakti burning within you will guide you but your role is to walk the Path. Let us take for example that you have become more compassionate to those who have not treated you well. You have become more understanding. You have even forgiven those who have done you harm. You might be called a hypocrite as earlier your stance was aggressive, even militant. Now it is soft and giving. Or it could completely be the other way round. Earlier you have allowed people to walk all over you but now you know that is unacceptable for the betterment of not only yourself but also those who have taken advantage of you. So you have become what they might term as being harsh, cold, ruthless, but you know it is for the highest good for all concerned. You have to keep walking the Path, beta, there is no other way. Darkness has power only in the absence of Light but all the darkness in the world cannot overpower a humble lit matchstick. You have to first become the humble lit matchstick until you become the Light itself. Wake up, Rudra, I know you aren’t sleeping. Don’t you snore, boy! Rascal!’

Rudra smiled. They both stood up and walked back to the cottage. Rudra slept near Baba’s feet while The Old Man continued to pray.

Remember, the real journey begins when one can’t bear the darkness in their own being and soul. That is when the search for Light commences.

THEY CLIMBED THE mountain a little further. They left that beautiful town with fear at every breath and now, after a while, they reached a village where everybody seemed to be hard at work. The village was not particularly picturesque. It was like any village one would drive through while in India. Nothing outstanding about this village but Rudra felt a sense of freedom. Everybody was hard at work. Children played noisily. The very elderly sat in the shade of large trees, smoking and talking amongst themselves. The young men and women worked in the fields. It was an everyday sight in countless villages but Rudra felt at home. Baba and he walked from home to home, most often nobody could see them. Baba did what He had to and Rudra did what he was directed to do. Most often there was cleansing of homes to be done and vibrations of people to be cleared. Nothing major, just run-of-the-mill aura cleansing. Rudra did notice that in many homes and farms where they did the aura cleansing, certain individuals were grappling with issues of guilt and anger, mainly self-directed.