Imagine you are standing and I am sitting down. Imagine you did something wrong and the person in front of you is aware of what you did. Many a time, we ourselves do not know what we are doing. Only someone who knows more than you, will know whether you are doing something right or wrong. Take parents for example, who stop their children from doing wrong things – the children do feel bad, when their parents stop them. The parents have seen the world, the society, they have experienced these things and therefore they tell the children – don’t do these bad things. The child might think – I am not like that, I will never do anything wrong.

As long as one says such things, I haven’t done any wrong, they are actually running away from their mistakes. And there can be no transformation or atonement. For changes to happen, for atonement to happen, one needs to first ACCEPT that one has done something wrong. Once a person accepts his mistake, when one gets the power to accept his mistake, only then can change or atonement commence. So, for transformation, the first step is to accept one’s mistakes. And once you accept, you get the power to change anything, many things. Write down all the things you did wrong in a day, like a diary, accept the mistakes and transform. We can hide from everyone but can we hide from our own self? Knowingly or unknowingly, we do make mistakes. Accept your mistakes and once you accept them, offer them to the person you believe in – God or Guru.

Why does a person seek or take on a Guru?
A person seeks a Guru, so they can escape or seek refuge from the bad/unfortunate things, to get his teachings, so they can learn about the path. So to learn the way, one takes upon a Guru.

Take a school classroom – When children first attend school, they hardly know anything. They are sent to school, so they can learn and get a good education. If they get a good teacher, they will get a good education. But not every child in the class is equally intelligent – there are some who are quick learners and some who take a while to grasp a concept, though they have the same teacher. The teacher is teaching all the students in a class in the same way, using the same blackboard and lesson material and each student accepts things in his or her own way.

So, the Guru can only show you the path, tell you to walk on the path, tell you the difference between good and bad. The rest of the work needs to be done by the student himself.

So, to transform, one needs to ‘accept’ the mistake. And when you have accepted you have done a mistake, only then you can/will change it.

Babaji’s answer to a question posed by a devotee in Dec 2017.