[Here are some helpful points from Eruch on how we should lead our lives in tune with Beloved Baba’s inner guidance]
You want to know how you can know what you should do? It’s simple, haven’t I told you all before, just do what Baba would want you to do? I know, I know, you say, “But what does Baba want us to do?”
Yes, Baba told us to do certain things, but these were day-to-day orders concerning our work. Baba might tell someone to write a letter, another would have to go to town to buy something, another would be told to mop a floor or clean the latrine. These are the sort of orders Baba gave us.
Baba assigned specific tasks to each of us, but how we were to do them, and how we were to behave when we weren’t doing them, that was up to our own judgment. And today, do you mean to say that Baba is telling me what I should be doing and He is not telling you? Brother, how many times do I have to say it, we are all in the same boat. We are no different from you.
There was something about Baba’s presence, about being in His presence which words cannot describe. That was there. It fell to our lot to have the blessed good fortune to spend time in His company and that, I agree, was something unique, I should say. But do you mean to say that when Baba dropped His body we suddenly had no idea what to do?
No, we went on doing what we felt would please Baba because Baba had trained us not to follow specific orders, but to anticipate His wants, to learn to be sensitive to His moods, in short, to dance to His tune. People often tell me that to live with Baba you have to be this or you have to be that, but I always say the only thing you have to be is a good dancer, you have to learn to dance to His tune. And you learn how to do this by following the inner voice which we all have been blessed with.
Baba once said that this inner voice is His voice. So, you see, you too have the opportunity to obey Baba’s direct orders if you simply listen to this voice.
We had the same temptations, the same difficulties you have. Do you think that because we were with Baba that we suddenly became blind and deaf to the world? We are no different from you. We had the same problems, the same difficulties, the same temptations and frustrations and desires, but we had one desire which, fortunately for us, was stronger than all other desires, and that was the desire, the determination to be His. Once you have this, you will be safe, and without it, even with Baba giving you direct orders, you will be lost.
You have to do your best. Baba one time told us that although we would not necessarily know what would please Him, we would always know what would displease Him. So we have this built-in compass that points the way.
Again and again it comes back to the same truth: live a normal life. All these questions, what is good, what is bad, should I do this, should I refrain from doing this, will it feed my ego if I do it, but if I don’t, isn’t that simply being selfish? And so on, ad infinitum. There is no end to questions, and there is no end to answers to these questions. Don’t get involved in trying to figure it out. Meher Baba wants us to lead an ordinary, normal life, in accordance with how you are guided inwardly. Do what you feel intuitively prompted to do, but all the time this should be based on the solid foundation of being His.
Whatever you do, whatever you undertake, dedicate it to Him. Don’t even think is it right, is it wrong, is it good or bad, is it a strength or a weakness. Just dedicate everything to Him. Gradually dishonesty will fade. Gradually other things will fade, and more and more unadulterated love and honesty will grow.
You cannot begin with a clean slate, as it were. You must begin from where you are. We all have weaknesses. But analyzing and dissecting our motives, trying to understand whether we are being prompted by selfishness or unselfishness will not eliminate our weaknesses. It will only drive us crazy and make it impossible for us to do anything. The only way to get rid of our selfishness is to go ahead and do something, but dedicate it to Him.
-“That’s How It was”, Eruch Jessawala, P250
[This is an extract. The full article can be seen at https://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/whattodo.html]