MOMENTS AND LIFETIMES

 
Meher Baba tells us that dying is nothing to get excited about. We've done it thousands and thousands of times. Millions, probably. At least, we hope so. In God Speaks, Baba explains that each individual goes through 84 lakhs (8,400,000) of human lives. Dying, He says, is like going to sleep at night and waking up in a new body.

Well, that sounds simple enough. The hard part, I imagine, is getting used to a new vehicle and learning to operate the plumbing, locomotive and steering mechanisms. Not to mention the two-way communication system, which some of us never master.

The rest of it should be a breeze since we've done it so many times. But for some reason it isn't a breeze. Somehow we manage to screw up our lives so thoroughly that we actually consider junking the vehicle and getting a fresh start. After millions of false starts, aborted missions, and totaled vehicles, we still think a "fresh start" is the answer! Talk about slow learners!

I wonder if we might benefit by simulating short-term lifetimes as a learning experience. The process might help us remember what we're here for and how to get out of this mess.

We might start by thinking of each day as a separate lifetime; each morning a new beginning and an opportunity to get it right this time; to live our allotted span of about 16 hours of wakefulness while trying hard to help more people than we hurt; remembering the Beloved even when our lust, greed or anger buttons are being pressed. If we can do the very best we are capable of for one day, we can probably lie down to sleep assured of having lovely heaven-state dreams (instead of hellish nightmares) and awake in the morning to another brand new beginning in which we are closer to God than we were the day before.

But since we live 84 lakhs of human lifetimes, we're not getting very far by living only 365 simulated lifetimes a year. Even Kitty Davy, who lived in Baba's Love to the ripe age of 100 years and 97 days, lived only 36,622 days as Kitty. So if each of those 36,622 days is considered a lifetime, it's still just a minute portion of her career as a human being. (Of course, Kitty might possibly have completed 8,399,999 lifetimes prior to her last one, so we don't have to feel sorry for her!)

But using Kitty as an example nonetheless, and factoring 16 hours a day of wakefulness into the equation, we see that Kitty experienced something over a half-million hours of wakefulness in her 100 years. So if each of Kitty's waking hours were considered to be a complete lifetime, it still would not come anywhere near the total of 8,400,000. In fact, if we divide Kitty's long life into 8,400,000 segments, we arrive at four minutes being roughly equivalent to a lifetime. Since, however, the average lifetime is much shorter than 100 years, we might reasonably consider each seven-minute segment to be equivalent to a lifetime.

Each period of seven minutes spent thinking of God, and doing His work, may be of incalculable importance in determining what will happen, or what our mental state will be, in succeeding seven minute segments.

Every moment, then, is precious, and every single thought is significant in that it plays a part in determining our future thoughts, words and deeds. Every thought, in essence, affects our life — so affects all future lives. And since thoughts are self-perpetuating, the serious seeker must find a way to either extinguish them or render them harmless.

Since time immemorial, Masters have told us ways of doing this. One method that appeals to the intellect is the jnana method of the great sage Ramana Maharshi (who Baba said was a Perfect Master). Seek the origin of the thought. Trace it back to its source. Ask who it is who has the thought. Each thought chased back to its origin (from which the I-thought emerged from the Infinite) will bring us closer to knowing who in fact we are.

Ramana Maharshi's approach requires constant dedication and vigilance. Meher Baba's approach, on the other hand, is available to all, regardless of intellect: Love God and try to remember Him no matter what we are doing. Each morning give Him all our thoughts, words and deeds — and again at the end of the day. He has promised us that if we do this every day, honestly and sincerely, He will take all responsibility for our thoughts, words and deeds. What better bargain can we find anywhere? If we honestly accept His offer, it doesn't matter how many lifetimes we still have to live, and whether each one lasts 100 years or 100 seconds. Every moment spent in His presence is worth hundreds of years of earnest seeking without Him.

If we constantly and consciously give everything to our Beloved, we grow, with each surrender, closer to the Beloved. Eventually we become His true lover. With each surrender, our will becomes more fully His will. Our love becomes His love, and we share His beauty and His grace.

Jai Baba! May every thought, word and deed be submerged in His Infinite Ocean of Love.