Today, at numerous levels of society, there is a pervasive and unapologetic attitude among many about their selfish behavior that in the past would have resulted in remorse and the sting of conscience. There is an illusion of freedom in not having to be hindered and slowed down by remorse and conscience in their effort to climb up in society and wield authority. But in overriding remorse and conscience, which are qualities of the heart, we become victims of a hidden guilt, which is of the mind in collusion with the ego. This unconscious guilt takes up residence in the shadows of our psyche, and our unending preoccupation then becomes to adopt a frantic forward-looking life style that keeps us just ahead of our guilt, and we pray that it doesn’t catch up with us! This repression of guilt often manifests as a feeling of unworthiness. People don’t like guilt, and no matter what strategies the mind comes up with to get rid of it, we only reduce it superficially. Guilt cannot do away with guilt. It is as futile as clipping off the tops of weeds, thinking that they won’t come back! We have to get at the root cause. Einstein said it clearly, “No problem can be solved with the same level of consciousness that created it.”
The qualities of remorse, repentance and conscience, old-fashioned terms as they might seem today, are essential in changing our behavior because they reside in the heart, and it is at the heart level that change in us must be made. When we feel genuine remorse for something we’ve done--a harsh remark made to someone, betraying a confidence, not helping a neighbor in need—rather than diminishing us, our spirit is affirmed and even ennobled. As uncomfortable as it might be, we know we are doing the loving thing. Our conscience is chastising us so that in the future we will try to be more loving. Guilt is concerned with our self-image; remorse is about transforming our heart.
Remorse and guilt don’t come up just in present moment situations. We all have selfish things in our past that we often unconsciously drag around with us that make us feel unworthy and which cast a shadow over our present. Baba assures us that we can change our relationship with the past. The selfish behavior back then can be dissolved in the present. Here are two immensely helpful methods. One, which we have discussed in recent weeks, is to bring up in our heart, situations in the past that we feel guilty about and deeply ashamed of and give them energetically to Baba in the present. (Shame is not really an emotion; it is a combination of severe self-condemnation and guilt, and it persists because it is a verdict handed down by the court of our ego and which allows no appeal. It masquerades as a permanent sentence. The ego is that cruel!). In bypassing the ego-mind that has little empathy, but instead, by appealing to our heart, Baba assures us that we will be readily forgiven by Him. This can happen instantaneously, but in most cases we have to access and then give Him our selfish past layer by layer before it is dissolved.
Here is a second method: In the course of our day and week, events are bound to happen that remind us of the selfish and unkind things we have done in the past. Normally, we might cringe when these memories, triggered by present situations, come up in our mind. And when we cringe and feel that shot of guilt running through us, this is the moment when we can give that memory to Baba and even send His name and love toward those past actions. In this way, the negative self-condemnation is not continually being reinforced in memory by guilt and shame; we maintain a positive self-compassionate attitude toward what we had done. After all, it is not really fair to judge what we have done in our past, using what we know about love today. There is this sage advice, “Give up all hope ……. of a better past!”
In putting these two methods into practice, the power of the past to cast its shadow over the present can be greatly diminished, and over time, it can become completely transformed by Baba. He even goes a step further by transforming the guilt associated with our past selfishness into empathy for others in the present. It enables us to relate compassionately to our fellow beings who suffer with many of the same weaknesses that we have.
Bhau Kalchuri would share with us a very helpful and insightful equation that went something like this: If you do something selfish and unkind and justify it, you will not be able to repent. And if you don’t repent, Baba cannot forgive you. And if you are not forgiven, you won’t be able to change your behavior.
Along the same lines, Darwin writes, “Meher Baba is the gateway to the Infinite, and a contrite spirit is the key that opens wide the gates of forgiveness. A contrite spirit is thus a vital part of this dynamic. We cannot accept forgiveness without repentance. This, then,
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.