November 9, 2020
In my experience over the years, I have realized that God is one of the most destabilizing subjects that exist. It’s common for many people to have doubts, frustrations and feelings of indignation related to the belief in a punitive God, or feeling uncomfortable as realizing yourself angry with God. In this article, I seek to demystify some beliefs and alleviate the suffering that the theme brings.
To start reflecting on this topic, eventually I like to propose a very simple exercise: close your hand / tighten it as much as you can and hold it / now let go.
Note that, as you realize that you are making a big effort to close your hand, you can open it. However, it may still be necessary to understand why you are keeping your hand closed, although it is much simpler to just open it.
At first, this applies to any and every belief we carry. To break free of a belief system, it is first necessary to identify this system. It may seem senseless, but the truth is that in order to experience the truth of God, it’s necessary to dissolve beliefs on this subject
You will ask me, “Prem Baba, but how can we stop believing”? I will answer you that, in my experience, I observed that this process of relationship is closely linked to the development of consciousness. When consciousness is in the early stages of its development, the human entity does not think about it. Consciousness is focused on the present moment, but in the present determined by the senses and not on the eternal present.
At first, consciousness is in the service of promoting the survival of the human species: it’s hungry, we are going to eat; it’s cold, let’s take shelter. As it evolves, it starts paying attention to other things, like the beauty of a lightning, the rain, the birth of a child or the death of a person. At this point, questions about the reason why for everything that happen are usually initiated.
“Is there a creator for all this? How powerful is It? Why can It give life, take it away, control nature? Is It an entity far superior to me, since I can’t do any of that? If there is a creator, who is this creator? ”
At first, this idea of God, the highest authority with power over the purpose of everything that happens on Earth, ends up having the same characteristics of the parents for the child. That is, it’s the representation of the highest authority.
Then you will ask me again,”Prem Baba, are you trying to tell me that parents have a power similar to that of the creator of heaven and earth for their children?” Yes, depending on how these parents were, what was absorbed regarding their personality, they will be projected in the figure of God. If you had kind, welcoming and generous parents, you will project this. On the other hand, if they were punitive, intimidating, abandoners, this will be the outlined relationship. Likewise, many of these mental representations are reinforced by religion – which you follow because of the influence of parents, and which is a way of continuing and sustaining the belief.
PREM BABA QUESTIONS: IS THERE A GOD WITH A BINOCULARS CHECKING TO SEE IF YOU ARE IN LINE?
I will say something to you, in my travels around the world, as Prem Baba, I have often heard questions about the idea of a God who should be feared so that you will not be reprimanded and punished, or you will be flattered in order to have your needs met. I usually say that God is apparently distant, usually in the sky, with binoculars, looking to see if everyone is on the line. If you are good, you receive protection and love; if not, it’s just suffering. However, there comes a time, a phase in the evolution of human consciousness, when the person who has this belief starts to question whether this is real or not. In summary, this moment is one of the most difficult of the journey.
PREM BABA EXPLAINS THE STEPS OF THE JOURNEY
In the vast majority of cases, the initial stage is one of profound skepticism: “God does not exist. There is no creator. We were born out of chaos, there was the Big Bang and that’s it”. Until, through this skepticism, the person begins to take responsibility for their choices and decisions. “If there is no God, is it all me? So why am I putting myself in this place? Why am I repeatedly falling in the same hole? What forces are these that keep me going in a certain direction?” The conclusion is that, yes, there is a power that inhabits us capable of creating reality.
Then, when consciousness evolves a little more, the person is able to understand that this power, in fact, is far beyond the ego and the human mind itself. Consciousness understands that this power – sometimes called God – acts in everything that is alive. Its core is what we today call Love. This love is God, and it works through you. This love is one that, the more you give, the more it grows. The love that enlightens those who receive and those who are giving. It unites, builds, creates. You only have this experience with God when you love. In that moment, you become grateful to God, who manifests himself. Gratitude is presented through you and through the other, who is the one who gives you the opportunity to live this experience. When you can recognize this love and truly say “I love you”, you experience God.
This stage, when you start to become aware of beliefs, can be quite challenging. Because beliefs are maintained through intimidation. Then you will say to me, “Ah, Prem Baba, and the fear of defying, of being punished?” Undeniably, it exists, the fear of challenging and being punished, as it was when you did not meet your parents’ expectations. There are rare cases of people who had truly loving parents and ended up in a religion that believes in a punitive God. Very rare. These are special cases of karmic determination. In practice, I, Prem Baba, have not seen it until today. What I see is the extent of education that ends up seeking reinforcement in religion and other types of philosophy that believe in punishment for faith.
PREM BABA TEACHES THAT LOVE DOES NOT PUNISH AND THAT GOD IS IN EVERYTHING THAT IS ALIVE
I believe it’s necessary to face this fear, to take the risk. You might be asking yourself, “Easy to say, has Prem Baba been through this already?” I tested it, but at an evolved stage of more maturity, where I recognized God in the form of my Guru and submitted this belief to some tests. I did something that went against common thinking to see if he would reject me, if he would change his love for me. However, it never happened. On the contrary: there I was doing something wrong and his love increased. It’s good to make it clear that when I talk about the wrong thing, I’m talking about the fantasies of what’s right and wrong. That’s how I saw how deep this issue of projection is, of transferring to the other everything we got from our parents, in particular this representation that we have of God.
I understand that I work to help people have this direct experience of God. However, for that, you need to break free from these mental representations. Love does not punish, love corrects and aligns you, puts you back on track – sometimes firmly, but never with hatred. Some will say to me, “Prem Baba, you only see love, you cannot see evil in things.” The human mind has created hate.
God is love, power and serenity. It is also wisdom, health, abundance, prosperity, it is life. There is no harm in God, He resides here in me, in you, and in everything that is alive. Surprisingly, at the current stage of our evolution, we end up distorting divine attributes.
And if you ask me, “Prem Baba, how do I get rid of this distortion?” I say that we have to do some self-transformation work so that the energy can flow in a harmonic way again. It starts with the identification of these patterns. I see that in this process, it becomes necessary to face and question beliefs, even at the risk of being punished – by yourself, because, as I said, love does not punish, love aligns and corrects.
For example, when you find yourself feeling angry with God, if you go a little deeper into the process of self-investigation, you will end up encountering some discussion or a fight with someone who was part of your growth. Not necessarily from your family, but someone relevant to you. They are usually opened accounts within you and that you are projecting into something that does not exist, that’s just a projection from your mind. In principle, this is projected. You can spend a lifetime fearing a God who does not exist. Note that the child often spends their whole life in fear of the bogeyman behind the bedroom door ready to devour them. The belief was installed and reinforced over time. The human mind is very powerful.
Stop to reflect: who is this self that is claiming to be wrong to feel angry at this entity that you believe to be God? Do you realize how many voices are there? Which one is true? In this world of voices, of this crowd that inhabits you, is anyone real there? Remember, the real is manifested in silence. Not everything you believe is true. It will be a step forward when you are aware that it’s all about a belief, and are able to say, “Prem Baba, I believe, but I don’t know if it is true!”
PREM BABA TEACHES TO LET GO OF RIGHT AND WRONG, JUDGMENT AND COMPARISON: WE KNOW NOTHING
I took a quantum leap in my personal evolution when I was able to abandon beliefs to the point of realizing myself knowing nothing. Really, I, Sri Prem Baba, know nothing. What is true in this world, besides the fantasies of my own mind? Beliefs give an impression of security. Certainly, I have experienced the fragility of being in that place, because it’s a false security. You want to have a safe map to be here on Earth: “if I do this, I am guaranteed; if I do this and that, I will go to heaven. Now, if I make a mistake here, I’m screwed, I’m going to hell ”.
During a phase, it is much simpler, and even comforting, to believe that you know everything. However, at one point, you discover that the security map is nothing more than a fantasy in your mind. Of course, there may be some truths on that map, but it’s a truth that you don’t recognize yet, you just believe on it. So, you need to go through this fragility, this vulnerability. It’s inevitable.
When you understand this context, it’s very easy to go anywhere. I feel free to visit a Catholic church, an evangelical temple, a Buddhist temple, or to go to a mosque. I understand that everything is right, each one is living what they need to live, learning their lesson, each in their own time and pace. At this point, you give up right or wrong, you give up judgment and, consequently, comparison. Finally, you understand that in a garden, different flowers live together.
The question is, what do you think about God and what do you feel about Him? This is the beginning for you to go beyond beliefs. You may think: “God is love, after all, Prem Baba said that”. What do you really feel? Something like, “God is a cruel executioner who will end my life if I do what I want?” You won’t say “it was Prem Baba who said that”, please. You have to deal with what you feel. Go after understanding the roots of this feeling, where it come from, and ask, “Is it true?” Then, once again, resume the practical script I suggested here.
Another important point in this process is: pay attention to the mysterious coincidences, which I call synchronicities. Really, when you realize you’re doing this, you will have found your way. Because the true God, who is your deepest inner self, which is existence in itself, speaks to you through synchronicities. Understanding these signals will not happen in a snap. It’s a process. As you enter the soul of the world, you see the meaning, you understand the living God speaking to you. He is in everything, up, down, on the sides. His home is your heart. It’s that simple.
I am very happy to share my journey and thoughts with you. In another text, I wrote about: the truth about yourself towards the true relationship.
