Oneness is the way
By her guru’s grace, Shivi Verma has become increasingly more trusting of humans, a path she hopes will lead to unconditional love
For the longest time I had been hearing that love has a lot of power. However, it took me a long time to understand what it actually meant. As I had mostly heard this in movies, I associated it with romantic love and felt that people did pretty crazy things (like hurting or challenging others— as shown in Bollywood movies—just because they were convinced beyond doubt that their bond was eternal). Needless to say, I felt that the statement was nothing more than sentimental tosh.
Nevertheless, my first brush with spirituality opened my eyes to this reality. When the Divine showered Her love on me, I was drenched from head to toe. Such was the intensity of this connection that I saw a firm resolve rising in me to never let it fade away. I was committed to walking the path shown by the Divine, come hell or high water. I had had the first-hand experience of the power of love.
However, many lessons awaited me. I still feared and distrusted people, and wasn’t sure if my love would be received guilelessly by them. In an attempt to love them, I got scalded, and my heart was broken countless times. Consequently, I became suspicious of new people. And since I carried this subconscious belief—while God can be trusted, Her children cannot—it replayed itself over and over again.
And then one day, my guru, Maitreya Dadashreeji, entered my life. I was living alone in Mumbai at that time and was fearful of drawing unsolicited attention from men. I expressed this to him. He promised me that he and Mahavatar Babaji would always protect me and that I had nothing to worry about. True to his words, I could feel an invisible shield around me wherever I went.
It’s been nine years now, and I have not suffered any unwanted advance or attention from anyone. All forms of disconcerting and difficult relationships have vanished from my personal life too. This fills me with unprecedented confidence and faith in God, as well as people. I can easily trust people and strangers now, and relate to them as my own. I derive joy in connecting with others as fellow humans, rather than probable enemies trying to get me. This isn’t to say that I have given up on my instincts, which help in judging people and situations. Rather, they have got more heightened. This sense of feeling one with the world, with complete strangers, trusting their intentions, and relating to them, is ineffable. It also instils in me a lot of humility, as I am unable to see much difference between myself and others.
Still, I am sure that greater lessons lie in wait for me. To love even when I am hurt, betrayed, and cheated upon. This is the unconditional love which is the key to liberation from worldly attachments. And last but not the least, to love myself even if I have failed, made mistakes, and committed errors of judgement. This is still a long way off, and sometimes, I shudder to think in these terms. But with my guru as my shepherd, I hope that I will not falter as I move forward in my spiritual journey.