What is the importance of worship & performing one’s duties in this journey to the Self? Bhagawan lovingly reminds us today the importance of these and the role of a Guru.

When this ‘I’ is dormant during deep sleep, there is no world so far as you are concerned. You are alone when you sleep. Before you were born, there was no world for you. After you die, there is no world of which you are conscious. To get knowledge about your existence, you must pass through the preparatory schools of karma and upasana. Karma (dedicated activity) helps to cleanse the heart of egoistic impulses; upasana (worship) helps to focus attention on the Universal and the Absolute. Then Jnana (wisdom) emerges. Karma and upasana depend upon Dharma of the particular stage of your life, as well as the guna that rules you. Even nectar (amrita) will be harmful to life, when drunk through the nose. There is a way of life, method of uplift, and path of progress, distinct for every seeker. The true Guru knows which suits you best. It does not mean that the Guru is partial or prejudiced; it only means that he is kind and considerate. For, he does not insist on all men wearing the same straitjacket.