Character and Sadhana | Thus Spake Babaji - online Q&A, No.128

Character and Sadhana | Thus Spake Babaji - online Q&A, No.128
Recorded on 18 March 2023 with worldwide participants.

0:00 Intro
0:07 What does Babaji mean when He refers to a person's character?
2:35 Are there any good habits or just bad habits?
4:17 Is the character, behavioural structure and personality the same?
5:10 How is the character formed?
9:45 Does the sadhana have an impact on our character?
14:28 Can your character be influenced by the people you are associated with?
16:31 Can we consciously alter our character or does the character itself prevent that?
19:42 Amongst yogis are there common characteristics of their character?
21:33 Why did Babaji talk once about how 'Ravana' who is often portrayed as a baddie in the Ramayana, actually had great character?
25:41 How can we develop a more mature character?
28:49 Is a Yogi's body under the law of prarabdha?
29:27 Are small incidents that happen all prarabhda?
30:15 How to deal with many thoughts coming up during meditation
31:21 Should one experience any pain when focusing the eyeballs in between eyebrows?
32:50 What is the favourite god of this lineage?
34:05 Is it ok to eat food that is older than 4 hours or refridgerated food
35:18 How to make ourselves eligible for grace?
35:47 What can be done to help someone face terminal illness as they near the end of their life?
41:25 Is it possible for a yogi's mind to be disturbed by physical illness?

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Website: http://www.srby.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shivarudrabalayogi
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Transcript

Discourse: Thus Spake Babaji - online Q and A No. 128
 Character and Sadhana
You tube Link: https://youtu.be/85DL-N-avn4
Recorded: 18 March 2023

Start of Questions and Answers

Question:   Babaji, we were going to try to examine character and sadhana.  And could Babaji first please describe what Babaji means when He refers to a person's character, please? 

Babaji Maharaj:   A character is very, very important for a person which can give you certain qualities, certain disciplined habits and approach towards sadhana.  That is the character.  Like during the sadhana, it is essential that you keep away from all bad companies who are likely to disturb your consciousness, your mind, and try to talk about something else other than spirituality, which is not necessary for us.  And also, if your character is intact, though a person can become either a monk or a householder, no problem for spirituality, but during the sadhana, if you want to do a tapas, go for Self-realization, then celibacy is very, very important in those times.  So thus, that is the character.  And you shall not have any bad habits which can deviate you from going on this path towards Self-realization or mind control or practicing this spirituality every day.  So, if you are married it’s no problem, that is another thing.  It's always… anybody can become Self-realized.  Simply, you have to give priority and remain disciplined.  So thus, character can serve like a fortress to stop all the enemies of such elements which can be disturbing for us to go on this path of spirituality.  So that is very important.  That's what I would like to call it as a character and culture, sadhana - is all very important.  

Question:   Thank You, Baba.  Babaji just described avoiding habits.  Are there any good habits or bad habits? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Ah, as you progress. There are good habits and bad habits in this world.  Bad habits, generally we can try to understand - which can disturb the physical health - any such habits like any smoking, any alcohol, drugs, these we would like to call it as bad habits because they will disturb the physical health, they can disturb the health of the brain also, like that.  And other good habits are there, keeping the body healthier is necessary, doing proper exercises.  When you want to meditate, your physical health also is equally important.  So, you can observe some yoga exercises also.  All these things are definitely recommended.  Finally, when you go towards tapas, in the mind - not physically - in your mind, you have to remain totally focused onto that quietness, to make yourself one with the quietness, achieve that one so that you merge with the Self and achieve the Self-realization.  At that time, by then you would have abandoned all good and bad, everything, at least mentally is very important.  So that's what I'd like to mean and tell, or recommend in fact.  

Question:   Thank You, Babaji.  Babaji, is the character the same as behavioral structure or personality, or is it different? 

Babaji Maharaj:   It is also the same. As we tell, the good habits which can always keep body and mind healthier can be one basic definition we can give for the character.  So that is very, very important, healthier.  And also that will induce the mind into a behavioral structure.  So whatever mind induces you, a person behaves like that only.  So that will give a good character, good culture.  Both character and culture go - behavioral structure, what you are telling.  So that is recommended.  

Question:   And Baba, how is that character formed? How does it occur and develop? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Well, one of the important things in Bhagavad Gita which impressed me and created an impact - to be shy is a satvik quality, it says. You know, like for example, we wouldn't go into a wrong place, to a wrong company or a wrong habit, because we were very shy and scared, “What will our parents think about us?  What will our elders think about us?”  So, consciously, that fear was there.  So that helped us not to go into such wrong companies and we avoided even the friends who were having any wrong habits, we would leave them and come away from them.  So that is how one can keep oneself into a good character.  So, if you are scared, if you are afraid, if you feel that shy, like you feel ashamed and so you don't want to do such things.  So, these are some of the basic points we can try to understand.  So, if you are doing that one - say, all of you are sitting in front of me.  Now, when you all have a love and respect for the Master, even if any one of you have a habit to smoke, definitely would not like to take a cigarette in front of me and smoke.  So that is disrespectful to the Master.  Anything that is disrespectful to the Master, one would like to avoid.  So that helps, you, see?  If you have that respect, that helps you to go on the right path, to be more sincere and the yearning will be there.  That's why we insist on sincerity and yearning.  Nobody would like to tell a lie to me or misbehave in that way.  When I ask you to pay attention, you will all learn to pay attention.  Otherwise, if a person's character or culture is not very good, that person may be, “O, Babaji is telling ‘Pay attention.’  A little bit here and there shouldn't be a problem.  I'm unable to concentrate.”  So that happens if the behavioral structure is not one hundred percent.  

So, like I keep telling, today my master has disappeared physically.  Even if I want to sleep until midday, twelve o’clock, there's nobody to scold me, nobody to wake me up.  But 3.30am that rings in the ears, the Master used to come, tup, tup in His steps, He used to wake me up, and He was very disciplined, taught us discipline.  So that thing very much rings and even today, exactly at that time we get up and start doing our work, morning work, wash up and brush, brush our teeth and then get into the job to attend to the emails, this, that, one after another, one after another, the whole day.  So, like that.  So, this has been possible because we have that love and reverence for the Master.  He need not be physically present.  So, in those days also, when He used to go away from here to other places for traveling, to Bangalore and other places, even then the fear was there all the time.  He just told only once in 1974, “Look after the Ashram.”  That was all.  That casually He just told as I was leaving for Dehradun, but that is sitting in the mind and has an impact.  It was the command; the Master has commanded.  Till the last breath we need to look after, we cannot simply run away if we have any selfish ideas and for our selfish things.  No, we have to be disciplined.  We have to take care of the Ashram.  We have to love people who come here, allow them to do their sadhana.  So, all this character, culture, behavioral structure is possible for you to remain disciplined when you have that reverence. Reverence to your parents, reverence to the Master, reverence to elders; all these things are very necessary.  

Question:   Baba, if our character has an impact on our sadhana, does the sadhana have an impact on our character? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Definitely. Because if the sadhana is done sincerely by understanding the right technique, the mind gets purified.  Such a mind, when now it is a pure consciousness becomes very mature; is able to visualize, understand, remain disciplined to the truth.  Like this Ashram, today I'm here, I can do anything with this Ashram.  But we have done that sadhana -  now our wisdom tells, “No, this is a property which was donated to our Master.”  And our Master did not keep this property to Himself.  He vested this in a trust, made this for a public property so that the public can come, do sadhana.  Today here also several people are joining us in the meditation here, they come regularly now.  So, they are able to come when we allow them, when we keep the atmosphere peaceful like that.  So that is the character, that discipline will always be there.  When you do right sadhana you cannot think of wrong things.  You cannot think, “O, I have to carve out a separate ashram from this property; half of this will be in my name, half will be in Guruji's name.  That cannot happen if you have done the right meditation. If you are going to do such wrong things, that means you have not meditated properly.  You have not done any spiritual exercises.  All the time you have maintained your own ego.  I have told you all the story of the lady who sat for tapas, but she maintained that ego that she wanted to marry Swamiji.  Swamiji innocently told her when she used to come to ashram in Adivarapupeta, when she demanded that she wanted to marry, Swamiji said “If you want to marry, you have to do twelve-year tapas.”  The idea of Swamiji was, if she does twelve-year tapas, her mind will become purified and that idea will not come to her,  she will not entertain marrying Swamiji anymore; that desire will disappear. Because that's what happened to Swamiji.  He was asked by the Jangama Sage when He appeared, “Close your eyes and watch by concentrating your mind and sight in between eyebrows, just keep watching there.  Don't repeat anything, don't imagine anything.”  He simply followed it like from a commander.  As a command, with all sincerity He just watched, and it became purified.  

So Swamiji used to tell, “I just went on watching and samadhi came.  If only everybody whom I initiate every day follow my instructions as a command and be sincere to themselves, because when they close eyes, they will have to be sincere to themselves.  Nobody else will see what their minds are doing.”  That is what Swamiji used to tell.  So that is the character; that is important.  If anybody had done that tapas, that desire would have disappeared.  That's how Swamiji told the Divinity, Divine who manifested as Shiva and Parvati, He said "I don't have anything in my mind.  I don't have any such desire anymore to do business or earn money.  But if You have, because you are the Master, if you have anything for me, command.  If you want me to do anything for Your sake, that work I can do.  Now I have surrendered to the Guru, that is all.”  Like that, what happened to us also, we have surrendered to the Master.  Anybody might criticize, anybody might praise, anybody might try to stop, anybody might come, and anybody might go away, we continue doing service to the Master all the time.  We cannot simply give up anything.  So, that character will be intact if you do sadhana, definitely.  When your mind becomes purified, you cannot be selfish anymore.  You will be more disciplined, more matured.  

Question:   Baba, can your character be influenced partly by the people you associate with?  And if that is the case, does that mean that there's an element of luck?  

Babaji Maharaj:   You see, one thing, as much as possible we must avoid any such company who can try to brainwash us in a wrong way, bad way, against our own Guru, against our own path that we have taken into.  However, if sometimes, it's absolutely impossible to avoid any such company totally, if we are really loving our Master, no power on this earth can brainwash us and make us to believe, you see?  Here, the character, how it comes.  For example, just an example.  I know you since more than near twenty years now, I have met you.  And I know what you are.  And I know what you can think about me, what you cannot think about me.  Somebody else comes need not tell me what you are.  If I simply believe after twenty years somebody else telling me, so that means my own character is not strong enough.  My own culture, my own understanding of spirituality, my own mind is not at all mature.  I haven't learned anything by remaining with the Master twenty years.  So that's what - example I'm telling, just an example, how it should be.  So, if that is intact, nobody can brainwash.  Sometimes we may have to be with such people when such topics would come.  Somebody might talk, tell their own opinion, but yet our brain will not be washed.  We won't take it granted.  

Question:   Thank You Baba.  Baba, can we consciously alter our character or does the character itself prevent that? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Sometimes consciously also some people can alter the character because of their own selfishness and ego purposes.  They will be conscious, “O, what I'm doing is wrong”; their conscience will be pricked, but yet they will overstep by justifying what they are doing is the right thing.  Otherwise, how can you expect a person trying to disturb the property of the Master who had established that property for sake of public utility?  How can you think of disturbing?  Even today, if I need to go away from this property, I'll be happy if this goes to the right governance and continues as my Guru's ashram and allows everybody to come here and to do sadhana.  At least then we will be satisfied.  As a person, we are not important.  This property is important.  This has to be there for long, long time to come.  So that will be the thinking always.  Even if somebody asks us, somebody powerful, if a trustee is powerful they may ask us to leave this Ashram, so we'll be happy to leave.  

Means, I remember reading in Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's life; that created such a wonderful impact.  He was doing tapas, He was doing sadhana, He was in Dakshineswar looking after the temple.  Rani Rasmanidevi had built the temple and she had employed Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as a priest there.  And her son-in-law, once something happens, the son-in-law gets irritated, “There shouldn't be any place for people like you.  Why are you here then, why don't you go away?”  Simply He took the small piece of cloth on His shoulder, Ramakrishna, like this, got up and started walking away.  Then when He reaches the gate, then son-in-law Mathur, Mathur Babu, he got frightened, he came running to Master Ramakrishna, "Please don't go, what did I utter? O God, where was my wisdom?  I am such an idiot." Ramakrishna said, "No problem, if you want me to go away, I will go away.  If you think that this belongs to you, let it belong to you.  My Kali is here in my heart”, He said, and again He came back after Mathur Babu requested.  This was such a wonderful impact on our mind.  This should be the fact; we should not be attached.  We should simply look after the Master's property, must not be attached at any cost, in any circumstances or situation.  That is the character one can develop by being conscious and in the conscience one must feel that one.  

Question:   Baba, amongst yogis are there certain characteristics of their character that are common, that they all have, or are they all different? 

Babaji Maharaj:   They can be different, not necessarily.. from outside.  One person might show a lot of patience, another yogi may not be able to show patience outside, but inside their consciousness is totally purified.  So, even if they show such an anger, that will benefit another person who is trying to go on the path of spirituality - this much I can say.  So, this can vary from person to person.  So, some people may understand, some may not understand.  Like the present day, in olden days, some yogis would show such anger, such short temper also; for smaller things they used to get annoyed, go on shouting.  But the present-day situations, people may not be able to take such anger, or such a scolding, such a yelling, all these things may not happen.  But for the question that you ask, inside, they are all yogis, their consciousness is totally pure.  Knowingly or unknowingly, yogis cannot harm this world or anybody.  Even if they accuse somebody, even if they scold somebody, that will benefit, that will remove their karmas.  So, that would be the purpose when a yogi accuses somebody, or gets annoyed with somebody and utters something; that will remove the karma of a person.  

Question:   Thank You, Babaji.  Babaji had spoken once about Ravana in the story of Ramayana that he is often portrayed as a baddie.  But Babaji said, actually he had a great character.  Could Babaji please talk about that a little, or perhaps I may have got it wrong? 

Babaji Maharaj:   You see, he did have many good qualities also.  He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva.  And he was a very learned scholar.  He knew justice, injustice, dharma, adharma, all these things he had the knowledge.  But most of the things were simply theoretical knowledge.  But then, he himself had that ego on all this.  So, when the ego was there, finally his mind totally did not get purified.  This is what I feel in my opinion.  That's when he went against Sri Rama, maintained that ego.  Otherwise, he had a lot of yogic… One person, once I have listened to the discourse, he was telling "In Sri Lanka during his rule, in his place there were all types of departments to educate people, except one - that was about the character, which was an egoistic factor.  So, it was not there.  That was why he got punished.”  He lost; Ravana lost the thing in spite of the fact that he was a great devotee.  Even the legend talks that Sri Rama had invited him when He wanted to install the shivalingam in Rameshwaram before He crossed the ocean to go to Sri Lanka. Because Ravana was a brahmin priest also, so he could not refuse.  He came and he helped Sri Rama by chanting the veda mantras and all to install that shivalingam.  This also we have read in the story.  But yet he maintained… his ego problem was there.  That ego can overshadow the characteristics all the time.  That's what happened in this case.  For us to learn spiritually, we can understand character and sacrificing the ego - how much important.  We have seen in our lives, with Swamiji also, many people doing sadhana or great devotees, but yet they could not sacrifice their ego to stay back with the Master.  They left the Master, they left Swamiji and went away. For one small incident, any such thing, they all left and went away.  I used to wonder, “Can not a master even scold a little bit like this?  Why these people are so egoistic to have gone?  Every day we keep getting such scoldings, such accusations from the Master so many times. Hundreds and thousands of times Swamiji has accused us, we never felt anything bad.  The more He accused us, scolded, we felt that He considers us as His own.”  Yogis like us, we will never scold anyone or accuse anyone.  If at all we do it, when we consider them as our own. If they had served so much, we would like them to lose the karmas.  They should not acquire karmas.  That also if many people misunderstand…[shrugs] 

Question:   Thank You, Baba.  Could Babaji give advice in general on how we can develop a more mature character, please? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Always know that the Divinity, the Divine Master is in your heart and is constantly watching you.  You are under surveillance of your Divinity.  That we must not forget all the time.  We have to remember - Kanakadasa's story I would like to repeat and remind you all.  When He was a student with His Master Vyasa Theerta, others, some of the students did not like Him because He belonged to a lower caste.  That's what they used to accuse Him.  They used to make fun of Him.  “What is the business for Him to come and try to learn the Vedas and Upanishads?  He has no business; He should simply be a cowherd, that's all He's supposed to be.”  Then one day the Master wanted to teach them a lesson - gave a banana to everybody's hand and told “Go and eat this where nobody will be watching you.”  All the boys were very happy, “This is all? It's such a simple job.  We keep doing every day.”  And everybody went.  Within one hour all of them came back.  The condition was ‘before sunset, you must come back’.  They all came back, they all told all the reasons, “I hid myself behind the bushes, I went behind the bathroom door, I went on the other side of the hillocks.”  Like this, they gave all sorts of reasons they had learnt in their life. “And I ate my banana.  Nobody was watching me,  I can assure You.”  They were all waiting and there was a murmur; “O, this Kanakadasa.  This man, even he couldn't do this small job that the Master gave him - to eat the banana when nobody was watching.  He's such an idiot.  So, he won't come back, I think.”  But just before sunset He comes back.  He brings back the banana, and surrendering at the feet of the Master He says, "I tried to do this, eat this banana everywhere, hide myself behind the bushes, go behind the doors, behind the hillocks, everywhere I tried.  But everywhere Lord Krishna was watching me.  I could not escape the eyes of the Divine when I was…  Every time I tried to eat the banana, the Divine was watching me.  So, I failed to eat this banana where nobody would be watching me.”  If only we can keep this in mind, that's good enough.  That will help us to keep our character, our culture, our discipline, our love for the Master and what good we have to do, what bad thing we must not be doing, all such things. 

 Wonderful.  Thank you.  All the questions were very wonderful.  

Question:   Babaji, Pranaams. Babaji, I have two questions regarding the prarabdha.  I want to understand, even the body of the yogi, whatever You are speaking on the level of body, is that also under the law of prarabdha? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, definitely.  Everything is myths what people believe.  A human body will undergo all the prarabdha.  A yogi would have stopped the future, but the previous prarabdhas will be there; an illness can come and it will die one day.  Next question, please.  

Same Questioner:   Babaji, next question is, when we are walking on the road and somebody smiles and somebody frowns, it's a very small event, very small incident, or some verbal conflict happens with neighbors which are very unimportant -  so this is also prarabdha or it’s a random incident?  

Babaji Maharaj:   Everything you do is a prarabdha, your habits.  So that is how you have acquired habits.  You need to be careful.  

Same Questioner:   So Babaji, grace is also the part of the prarabdha only? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, if you are eligible, the grace will come.  Eligibility will be always tested.  You make yourself eligible, then the grace will come.  

Same Questioner:   Thank You Babaji.  Blessings and forgiveness.  

Question:   Namaste Babaji.  My question is in respect to the practice that I am doing.  These days when I practice, lots of thoughts are coming; that never used to happen.  But earlier I used to sleep – I’ve worked on that step.  Now, too much of random thoughts, too many things are happening.  That is the first question.  

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, for some time, it will definitely happen because all the acquired habits since time immemorial are there.  They need to be purified.  That is why in meditation it is taught that you just keep watching in between eyebrows and do not try to imagine about the thoughts.  Then slowly it will all evaporate and dissolve back into the consciousness.  That is the technique of the meditation you must follow.  Then in due course of time, all thoughts will all disappear.  The mind will become purified into pure consciousness.    

   Now, the next question.  

Same Questioner:   Okay Babaji, Thank You.  The next question is when I try to keep my eyeballs to the middle, I feel like I am pulling my eye muscles and it’s creating a small pain, actually.  So, does it normally happen in the beginning? 

Babaji Maharaj:   No, it is likely that you are trying to force it.  So, that is why we try to recommend and teach that ‘gently close your eyes’. Because mind is very infinite; by forcing you cannot simply control.  You have to become quiet.  That's what you have to learn.  So for that, gently close your eyes - even if you are unable to bring the mind here in between eyebrows altogether, because they keep moving parallelly, that doesn't come very easily.  So, gently you have to keep watching.  Front portion you watch, even if you are unable to bring it to this place [points to in-between eyebrows], in due course of time it will start coming.  If you steadily keep watching, then they will start coming together.  So, that is what will happen.  So, in all these things patience is very important. Slowly, skillfully, you have to just watch, then it will come into in-between eyebrows on its own.  Got it?

Same Questioner:   Okay Babaji, Thank You.  I have one last question.  I wanted to know, what is the favorite God or Ishtadevata of our lineage? 

Babaji Maharaj:   One thing, my Guru, He said, "You can believe God in any form or formlessness, just respect others' beliefs also." Now, He considered Lord Shiva as His Guru because that was the experience.  In that area also, many of them were Shiva worshippers.  So, He always considered Lord Shiva as His Guru;  Shankara Bhagawan He used to tell. But He told that God is one, many forms; that is important.  So, if you want to have an Ishtadevata as Lord Shiva, is no problem, but you must know that God is one, many names and many forms - that is important.  And meditation in silence is important, then you will understand this philosophy that the Divine is one, is all pervaded.  Right? 

Same Questioner:   Okay, Thank You Babaji.  

Question:   Baba, there's one question that's been sent in by Usha.  She’s asked, "Could you please ask Babaji about the habit of eating food that's older than four hours? These days having refrigeration it's very convenient.  And is it okay to eat food that's saved in a refrigerator overnight, please?”  

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, if possible, you should try to eat as fresh as possible.  So, that is what it is.  If for some reason, if you are traveling, or if you have to go to office, if you are busy working, then you may not be able to cook for yourself if you don't have a cook.  So, then you have to eat refrigerated food; that is one thing.  As much as possible, avoid eating food that is kept for long time.  This is one criteria;  we all were told and we understood, but it depends on whether it is possible for you.  

Question:   Thank You Baba.  Thank You Babaji.  And Pratishta has sent in a question if I could ask, please. How to make ourselves eligible for grace? 

Babaji Maharaj:   By being sincere, putting hard work; these two are important things.  

Same Questioner:   Thank You Baba.  

Question:   Yes, Thank You Babaji.  I am always very pleased to be at these sessions and to enjoy your grace. I must say Your kripa is amazing. But I've been put in a position, I'm thinking about Your really excellent comments on character and sadhana.  A friend of mine is a very good sadhaka, but she has a pretty severe case of pancreatic cancer, which never has a good outcome.  And so I've been talking to her, really trying to give her brief lectures out of the Katopanishad, of Nachiketa and Yama.  And I can see that she is very interested and after about ten minutes, she trails off into her own body of pain and dislocation and disconnection and family problems and all of that.  And I'm trying, I guess, in this little way to see that her best character shines through as she approaches the end.  But what I'm finding is that as a person, most people - this is by no means true of everybody - but as some people, maybe most people approach the end of their time and their mind begins to waver and their pain body becomes greater, that the opportunities to improve one's character seem to be diminishing.  As we all sort of age, we experience a bit of this for ourselves.  And I just wonder if I'm just wasting my time by trying to talk about Nachiketa and Upanishads like that or whether there's some other thing that can be done that might be able to connect more with a person in a condition like that, and to work on their character and sadhana and put them together as You were talking about.  

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, courage and understanding - this is the last.  And before the last, whatever opportunity is available, we must utilize that opportunity to quieten our mind, is important.  That is the only thing which can help us to win.  The rest of all, simply the losing only, whatever we try to do, if we cannot keep our mind quiet.  Though we understand it's sad and unfortunate that such an illness has come, which can be more troublesome for many people.  But since childhood, we practiced in such a way, whenever there was more trouble, even in body also, gradually I saw that my mind becomes more cooler, quiet; before my tapas also, that's what I had noticed.  And without getting annoyed with the Divine, simply we used to pray and then leave it to the Divine.  “Finally, I know that I don't have that ability like You who is the Divine.  So, then whatever You want to do, You do it; it's up to You.  But at least give me that acceptance and peace so that I become one with Your lotus feet.”  Like that we used to pray.  That is the final course; we try to remain as courageous as possible.  Try to look after the mind that it doesn't get disturbed.  This courage I am recommending is needed so that we don't allow our mind to get disturbed, which can be a losing point for us, if one can understand and do this.  We can also, like whenever you get a chance to talk to her, encourage her; you talk in the coolest possible way.  Even if the lady gets annoyed or irritated for some pain and due to the illness, we shall show more patience with such people and just let them have it.  If at all, sometimes I allow if somebody wants to show such an annoyance, if they are troubled and if they are that illness, I allow them, “Do it. Show the annoyance on me if you get relief.  I can take it; that's no problem.  I remain unaffected mentally.  I don't have any problem.  I can keep quiet.”  So thus, I try to help people.  This is the only thing we can do and they can do.  

Mata Ambaji:   Baba, I just want to ask, is it possible for a Divine… means like You are a yogi and Your mind has merged into the Divinity, is it possible for a Divine being whose mind is no more, and if suppose the physical illness comes, something really terrible, like Ramkrishna got throat cancer, Ramana Maharishi got cancer in His arm, and Swami Nithyananda, the great Swami Nithyananda, and so many others, great saints we heard that they had to go through very difficult physical illness.  So, is it possible for a Divine being also to get their mind disturbed if the illness comes to them or the body is just instrument for them.  Means to become one with the Divinity or it's just like you are dropping one cloth.  So, what do You say? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Definitely, in my opinion, if they are Self-realized, they will never be disturbed mentally.  Even if due to pain physically, a little bit that body appears to get disturbed or pain, such agony might be there, but inside in their consciousness they are ever silent one, they will never get disturbed.  They will be fully aware that “Just this has to go; this is going in its own way, and this is not the only me.  This is inside me, which has appeared and it will simply disappear.”  That knowledge-awareness, that wisdom will always be there twenty-four hours, twelve months; it will never diminish, never go away.  

Mata Ambaji:   So, that means it's just like changing the clothes?  

Babaji Maharaj:   Just like changing the clothes.  Today the jumper has become dirty.  I will just take it away and wear another new one if necessary.  If it's not necessary, I'll tell you, “It's enough.  No more jumper is needed.”  

Mata Ambaji:   Thank You, Babaji.  

End of Questions and Answers

Babaji Maharaj now concludes the session.

   Yeah, wonderful. I appreciate everybody's participation, and asking some wonderful questions, which gave an opportunity to me to express my opinion, my experiences, what my Master taught me.  During my answers, once again I would like to convey to people, whatever I would have uttered or given an answer was only for educational purposes, not to accuse anybody, not directed against anybody, or any group of individuals.  I will always pray for the welfare of the entire universe for everybody.  All of you have my blessings, my love.

End of Session