‘By being aware of who we are and mindful of our thoughts, words and actions, we save ourselves from the grief and chaos caused by the futility of unaware reactions. Remember, my sweet crazy child, eventually each drop is going to decide the quality of the goblet of milk that you offer to The One. However much you take care of the milk, if a drop of lime falls into that goblet, the milk will curdle. The cosmos is trying to teach us how careful we need to be on this Path. That one drop of lime can change the very essence of what you want to offer. Thus, on this journey, go slow, be steady, always sure, aware, and then take a step at a time. Do not be in a hurry. Haste will bring you back to where you started or worse, further back than from where you started. You don’t want your life to be one step forward and two steps back, at every given step of your life.’
‘Pure intent if not backed by sensible action is similar to a strategically placed well, filled with sludge and murky water. Rather useless to one and all. Also, when we realize that we all are work-in-progress, one becomes less judgemental to one’s own self as well as to everybody else. That is the first step towards Oneness. Oneness starts with the realization that we all are in the same boat, some ahead, some in between, some behind, but all in the same boat, all moving towards the same destination.’
‘But, Baba, the mind never really lets an individual move forward. It overwhelms all those trying to walk the straight line. Let us take for example the person who has done self-inquiry and even gone beyond guilt and self-reproach but the mind never stops pushing the individual at every step to go further down or go about in circles or go astray. What is to be done with the mind?’
Baba stood up and Rudra followed. They began to walk back towards the cottage. Baba was in prayer and Rudra realized that the talk for the day had ended. It could resume after a few minutes or days, it was all left to Baba. They entered the cottage and Rudra put the water to boil and coal to heat for another round of chai and chillum. Living with Baba, sleep sometimes was a rare visitor and when Baba wanted it to be, Rudra would sleep soundly for hours at a stretch. It all depended on what Baba wanted out of him. Rudra had long realized that his life was not his own and he wanted it no other way.
By being aware of who we are and mindful of our thoughts, words and actions, we save ourselves from the grief and chaos caused by the futility of unaware reactions.