Master, my greatest problem seems to be... truthfulness.

    That's all right that you do not keep this reserved, but at the same time weed out. You say, "I'm taking poison daily a hundred times a day," but stop taking further poison. Do no more. That is what is wanted. It is good that you don't deceive yourself, but you're not trying to weed out. Diary is the means to weed out. If you know that so many scorpions and snakes are underneath you, you must clear them out. Whatever poison you take can be cleaned from your stomach. Don't take more, that's all.

When filling out our diaries I find a situation where suddenly I become pretty egotistical, how do you sublimate that?

    This is difficult of course, but not impossible. It is easier to be calm and quiet when you are in places where everything is at your command, your beck and call. But to maintain yourself when you are fighting the hard battle of life is what is wanted. You learn swimming where? In water; not in theory or while on land, do you see? Swimming instructions are all right, "Just move your hands and legs, like this." That you learn in theory, but in water you'll have to really swim, otherwise you'll drown. So in the hard battle of life we have to be made into men.
    I was in the firing line for about four to five months working under bombs and cannons booming and machine guns going off like the roasting of wheat. Still I did my practices. So we have to learn like that. So anyway He won't let you go into the wilderness and pass your life at the sacrifice of others, no. Wind up all give and take. Don't sow more seeds, that's all. Otherwise action, reaction will go on.

Master, you say we should mind our own business. When we see some people fighting or Satsangis arguing or animals fighting, do you think we should break up people arguing?

    You are now talking about three fights: one between animals, two between ordinary men, three between Satsangis. As for animals, I think they'll just kill you with their horns if you interfere. [chuckles] But even animals may sometimes give in, by sweet tapping. But among the Satsangis--everybody is a Satsangi. I don't regard anybody as a non-Satsangi, because Sat is there, within everybody, already. The only difference is that you have been given a Way within, a clue, a contact with That. Others have the same privilege from God but they have not yet been given a contact, that's all. So when you find fighting like that, kind words don't cost anything. Woo them by persuasion. "Well, look here, it does not behoove a man like you to act in such a manner." You are not blamed but the Satsang with which you are connected, is blamed. Master is blamed. Who is to blame for a dog who is biting everybody who comes to the Satsang? The master, the owner of the dog. Is he not? Persuade them to come round, friendly. Don't broadcast; "As I told you, he's such and such, he's such and such." That will make matters worse. Tell him privately, "Look dear friend, this is not right." You'll find that he'll come round to his senses. Sometime something happened in Satsang. Possibly 10-20-50 people might have followed the right way except for one or two who have done the wrong thing. If you tell them, "Oh this is wrong," then others will also know what is the matter. So tell them privately, "This is not right." Then I think everybody will come to their senses. If you say, "Satsang will be blamed, Satsangis of the Master are blamed... We are here to glorify His name. We are doing quite the reverse while sitting at home." I think that will appeal to everybody. We are all workers in the field, you see. I'm a labourer in the field too, along with you. Just bring out the point in that way. Don't work like the unpaid apprentices of the CID of God. If you are helpless and you still have love for that man, tell your Master, that's all. Pray for him, because sometimes when you preach too much about something, right or wrong, that very thing affects them too. Fearless Forethought, a book I read in 1912 described how the Christian missionaries went to Japan and preached one commandment of Moses, "Don't strike a woman." Now then, in that country they did not strike women. They did not beat them. They had very innocent lives. The result was, after a year's preaching, they began to strike the women. That was the effect of their preaching, on others. And if you preach, "Don't drink wine," but you drink wine? Well? So the best way is to persuade, lovingly. When a child is besmeared with filth, wash it away lovingly. You cannot segregate him, wash him with love. Blood cannot be washed away by blood--blood can be washed away by water. Sweet loving water, that's all. We have to learn these things in life. As I told you, we have to learn swimming in water. Every day you'll find instances like that, you see. Daily. When you are called to an examination going on, are you successful or a failure?
    If a strong wave comes and strikes against a rock, that wave will come back with the same force or double force, come to the place from where it emanated, but if sand is there, the water will go through the sand. If somebody says something against you and you've got any infirment--if that element is within you, you'll feel, "Oh!" That will affect you. Again that will go back to him with double force. If a ball comes from that side and you return double balls, then three balls, then four balls--the result is a breaking action. If you call somebody names and if he returns the same, then there's double, then you go fourfold, then they go eightfold. The result is injury. If you don't return in the very first place, then? So keep your ground quite clear. No element of that. If anybody has something against you, let him have it, but you must not return anything, otherwise that will grow more.
    Kabir prays, "Oh God, keep a man who always thinks ill of me in my compound." He says, "Why? .... He washes away my sins." You have to get your clothes washed by somebody by paying him. Is it not so? He washes away your sins. How? By as you think so you become. Your burden becomes less, you see. When that man died, Kabir said, "Oh God, the man who was looking after me has gone away." That's the angle of vision by which to see. If anybody speaks ill of you, see if that very thing is within you or not? Then thank God and thank him. The right thing will only be told by either your bosom friend, I would say, who is very faithful and very sympathetic, or by some enemy. He may magnify the situation, but still look to see whether it is truly there, even in the least amount. See, find out. Only then you will become freed of all these things. Now filth is being added day by day, day by day, day by day, it goes on multiplying. The diary has a very noble purpose; only don't spare yourself; that's all. It's better to see these things and confess them day by day, not all at once when you are being punished.
    These are all helping factors. In previous times, as I've told you so many times before, Masters gave something only when the disciples were quite prepared, quite clean, maybe after sitting at their feet for years. Now the times have changed--nobody can sit at the feet of a Master for a long time. So He gives Initiation first, then asks you to maintain it, that's all. Diary is the means of maintaining what you have been given. At least you people get something, do you not? That is to be developed. If you have been given ten talents, make it twenty. If you're given forty, make it one hundred. Then your owner will give you more. You will become trusted. But if a man keeps his talents buried, then what? Will the Master give him more? Our Master used to give us instances. A man has three or four children. He gives each one something, keeping some in reserve for them. There are some who make more and more and there are some who simply fritter away, losing the money in one way or the other. What does the father who has love for the children do? He keeps those things reserved for him only. Doesn't give it to him so that he may not spoil it. So he has a share for everybody. To those who just make more of it he gives more. In abundance you will have; you will have it in abundance.

It seems to me, habit plays a great part in man's life. If you're bound, fastened hand and foot, what can you do?

    You can do nothing. You have to surrender. These outgoing faculties have bound us hand and foot. Having identified with the outside world, we have forgotten even our soul. So somebody should be there to unfasten you and give you some inkling or contact, then you maintain it. But again you bind yourself. Let yourself be bound by Master. Do not bind yourself. Let yourself be bound.

That's the equivalent of saying it's His Will not my will?

    Ah yes. Ultimately we have to come to that. When we see that, then we are Saints. When we can recognize His Will then we are Saints. We won't grumble. We are sent down here in the realm of time and space, the realm of the Negative Power. Rules have been made already. When you work here you must abide by those rules. You try to transcend, get out of that area, that's all. The strongest dungeon, stronghold, I would say, is man-body. If you rise above it, you are a little loosened. If you rise above the astral and the causal bodies then you are free. There you  recognize His Will working too. So rising above body consciousness is most necessary. You will be loosened a little, it is not as tight as in the physical body. Even the rising above astral and causal bodies--this un-fastening or loosening of yourself, is done by Him, the God-in-man. If a donkey is there, laden with burden and stuck fast in mire, can he get out unaided? But if somebody takes pity on him, he would first unload his burden and then drag him out. There's some Power. We are helpless, have become helpless, you see. We have allowed ourselves to be bound and now we are very much bound. We want to be free but we cannot be freed unless somebody has pity on us. Who can pity us? After all, we're children of God. When man feels perturbed, very much in agony, he prays, "God, help me!" And God hears. He makes some arrangement to unloosen you, that's all. If He loosens you, then you again go headlong down into the mire; that is not wanted.
    When you fly in an aeroplane you are given lifeboats. If anything comes up you have it on. But it protects only those who take seats in the aeroplane, not those who are out. Don't try to plunge out of the aeroplane. Even if you're thrown out by some misfortune, you've got the lifeboat, you see. This is one thing taught while you are flying in planes, is it not? Once when I was flying in Germany from one city to another, it so happened I saw a man fall out of a small aeroplane; the pilot turned round and caught him again in the plane. That's an actual instance. So the pilot won't let you fall out, even in stormy weather. On another occasion while I was traveling in Germany in a small plane there was a storm, hurricane, and we were tossing about like anything, here, there. Somebody injured his head, too. But the pilot brought us out safely. So a careful, competent pilot won't let you fall down, you see. But don't you plunge outside. We simply plunge out of ourselves. That was a strange event. He fell out of the aeroplane and the pilot turned around and caught him. So have faith in the Master, the God in Him, that's all I can say. God Bless you.