On June 25th, (1963) Baba explained about the three main stages of experiences on the Spiritual Path – enthusiasm, depression and hope:
There are three states of experiences. When a seeker enters the Spiritual Path, for twelve years he has the experience of enthusiasm.
Then comes the period of depression. This depression goes deep to such an extent that the aspirant neither feels interested in the world nor in God. This dark period lasts for twelve years. After the period of depression comes a period of hope when the aspiring pilgrim starts feeling interested in God again. This period is also for twelve years. At the end of this period, the pilgrim achieves God-Realization by the grace of the Qutub.
In some cases the pilgrim gets the experience of enthusiasm for three years, and he also experiences a dark depression for three years. Then comes hope for twenty years, at the end of which he receives glimpses of God.
There are various experiences in the gross sphere, such as health, food, sight, hearing, smell, sex, et cetera. But when a pilgrim experiences the subtle world, all those experiences of the gross world become insignificant. The experiences of the subtle world are as innumerable as those of the gross world.
In the mental world, there are few experiences. When a pilgrim enters the mental world and experiences it fully, the experiences of the gross and subtle world become insignificant. In vidnyan-bhumika [the seventh plane] there is only the experience of God. When an aspirant experiences vidnyan-bhumika, all the experiences of the gross, subtle and mental worlds become utterly insignificant for him.
When one achieves God-Realization by the grace of a Perfect Master, it is either at midnight or at five o’clock in the morning. But the Avatar can give God-Realization at any time.
Baba ended by quoting these lines:
“When the Sun flew the flag at the top of the mountain
at the appointed hour of dawn,
the Beloved knocked at the door of the lover
and said to him, ‘Lo, I have come!’ ”
The next day, June 26th, Baba added a few more points regarding the experiences of the planes:
Sometimes a Wali of the fifth plane gets a glimpse of the sixth plane for a short time, then the experience disappears. Again after some time, the Wali gets a glimpse of the sixth plane, which again disappears after some time. Therefore, he seeks the help of a Perfect Master to have more glimpses.
Hafiz illustrates this phenomenon with a simile. A boat in mid-ocean is tossed on the top of a big wave. When raised by the wave, the boatman sees a glimpse of the destination. But when the wave recedes, the boatman cannot have that view. So the boatman approaches the Qutub and requests him to send another huge wave so that he may have the sight again from the top of the wave.
Lord Meher, Bhau Kalchuri, Original Publication, Vol. 18, pp. 6210 – 6211.