‘And most importantly, when you pray not seeking anything but Their blessings, Their presence and Their love that prayer is the most sublime of all prayers. When your prayer is not a business deal but just an expression of your love and gratitude, the fragrance of that prayer has no comparison. The prayer that comes from humility and gratitude, seeking forgiveness, wisdom and strength to go through whatever is in store for us with calmness, compassion and complete surrender to Their wisdom and love, is the best prayer, as we are not seeking for our Karma to be manipulated, we are not seeking things, we just want to make Them happy and proud of us. Praying to Them to help us give each moment our very best and to leave the rest to Their wisdom and grace, joyously, is a prayer as good as any prayer found in any scripture here or beyond. Remember, my child, when you pray like this, drop-by-drop the ocean will fill up. Prayers that come from a tranquil heart, a heart filled with gratitude and pure selfless love becomes akin to an oasis for a traveller walking through the desert and the hot sands of the laws of cause and effect. What is the purpose of prayer, beta? To express love and gratitude, to seek forgiveness and mercy, to be able to go through life gracefully and joyously no matter what and to eventually move away from duality and darkness into Oneness and Radiance. When you reach The One you pray to or when you pull The One towards yourself, either you travel to The One or you pull The One to you or awaken The One within you. There needs to be power for anything to defy gravity or to go within, to the womb of Mother Earth. Our prayers, if not fueled with intense pure love, gratitude and yearning, will not have the power to go through and go beyond the beyond; either move upwards or go deep within. If you pray with the right love and intensity eventually you shall reach the stage where you shall need no external pilgrimages, no paraphernalia, no priest, no flame, no fruits, no flowers, nothing. You are the devotee praying to The One within you. Eventually, you are praying and being prayed to. You are the one chanting and being chanted to, and then duality ceases, all that remains is you and you too are The One. You are The One.’

Baba stood up and stretched. He then looked at Rudra and smiled. Blondie stood up and stretched too. She too looked at Rudra and it seemed as though she smiled too. Rudra raised his eyes and he too stretched. Then he gave a broad smile too. They walked towards the cottage. The clouds had drifted away. The moon smiled back at them. They reached the cottage and Rudra put the water to boil and the coal to heat. He heard Baba humming some ancient Sufi song. He didn’t understand a word as it was in Farsi, but he shut his eyes and took a deep breath. A cool breeze caressed Rudra. He stood in front of the gas stove and saw small bubbles erupt in the water and the fragrance of the burning coal. He took a plate and placed various edibles on it. In the background Baba’s voice could be heard. It was the most divine voice and Rudra shut his eyes. Life was good. Life was cool.