TO SERVE THEM IS REAL SERVICE

After his return from France, Baba was occupied in his mast and mad work in lower Meherabad. On Sunday, December 19th (1937), Dhake came to see Baba at Meherabad. Baba came down the Hill and, after discussing certain matters with Pendu and Dhake, he got up and walked hurriedly to the Mast Ashram. Masaji handed him a broom. Baba rolled …

THE AVATAR AND THE PERFECT MATERS

(Dec. 1929) Baba gave the following explanation to the mandali about the difference between the Avatar and the Perfect Masters: Every God-Realized personality is perfect. However, those who come down and act as Masters – the Sadgurus and Avatar – come down with their minds universal and use divine powers to work for others. There is a place, Vidnyan Bhumika, where the …

TRUE SPIRITUALITY

Garrett Fort was full of questions about what constituted spirituality, renunciation, and the spiritual path. On December 17th, (1936) Baba stated to the group, while directing his comments at Fort: “Divinity is not devoid of humanity – it lifts mankind to God. Nor does spirituality necessarily imply the renunciation of worldly activities. “True spirituality signifies the internal renunciation of mundane …

REMEMBER, EVEN IF YOU LEAVE ME, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU

The following day, December 17 (1928), Baba began cleaning the boys’ toilets, allowing only his brother Jal to help in this work. Regarding this lowly task, Baba explained to the mandali: Sadgurus are in the highest state, yet they work like sweepers to abolish the bad sanskaras of sinners; but here I have to do this outwardly filthy work of cleaning the …

SEEING BABA WEEP WAS AN UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE

From Sunday, December 16th (1956), Baba began feeling and looking weaker in health. His physical pains had risen with renewed intensity. Because Baba’s leg was in traction, the sandbag weights would drag him gradually toward the foot of the bed, and when he was shifted up the bed again, he had terrible pains. There were abrasions on his back, because …

THE LEAST SAID ABOUT OCCULT POWERS THE BETTER

On December 15th (1927), at Shahane’s house, Rustom read out an article from the newspaper to Baba about a live snake being created from a piece of metal. This elicited the following candid explanation from the Master: This is due to occult powers, but remember that it has nothing to do with ghosts. Ghosts and occult or black magic are …

THE ONLY REAL DESIRE AND THE ONLY REAL LONGING

From Mani’s Family Letter of December 14th: (1966) Desires and longings are the root cause of all suffering. The only real desire is to see God, and the only real longing is to become one with God. This real desire and longing frees one from the bondage of birth and death. Other desires and longings bind one with ignorance. To desire the real desire and to …

THIS CRITICAL PERIOD TOO WILL BE TIDED OVER

(Dec. 1956) Baba informed the women mandali: During the last seventy-five days of my seclusion, beginning from the day of the accident, I have to work through physical suffering. The main pattern of its intensity resembles climbing a hill: the first three weeks being in the ascension. Therefore, the critical week beginning tomorrow is the apex. The next twenty-one days …

MY NAME IS THE MOSQUITO NET

On December 12th (1941), Baba explained another point to the women about meditation: Those of you who are unable to meditate should repeat my name without being bothered by thoughts. Thoughts are like mosquitoes, and my name is the mosquito net. When you are within the mosquito net, the mosquitoes may buzz around you, but they cannot bite you. Thus, …

WHAT SPIRIT MEANS

On Sunday, December 11th (1932), Meher Baba discoursed about reincarnation, explaining what spirit means: The soul always remains the same; it is only the spirit which reincarnates and takes successive possession of bodies. People do not understand what spirit is and only vaguely use the term. There are so many terms used for one aspect. The soul is infinite, everlasting and pure. …

A KIND OF INTENSE ‘STILLNESS’

This letter from Eruch to his family at Akbar Press on Sunday, December 10th (1960), aptly sums up Baba’s condition: Beloved Baba’s health is not at all good. He has terrible pain all over his body, but he does not tell us what it all is. From all outward appearances he looks as if in terrible pain, and he makes …

FIRST TRY TO GET HOLD OF THE HEAD BECAUSE OUT OF IT COMES EVERYTHING

(Dec. 1927) In the course of his explanations the following day, Baba revealed: As previously explained, there are an infinite number of worlds which have cooled down, and for each such world to cool down takes cycles and cycles. Imagine how long! But when a man attains Realization and ascends to the seventh plane, he feels as if only a …

ASPECTS OF THE FOUR GREAT AVATARS

In a letter to William Donkin on December 8th (1937), Kitty Davy wrote: Baba told this interesting fact the other day – that all four aspects of four great Avatars were embodied in the present Avataric period. The Buddha – with his poise, peace, calm exterior, and renunciation – is present in all Avatars, whether it shows externally or not. …

ALL TOO CHILDISH FORWORDS

ANOTHER WAR was beginning. After the public meetings in Mysore and Bangalore at the beginning of November, an attorney named Sampige Venkatapathaiya began to stir up heated opposition to Baba’s plan of settling in the area. He went to almost any lengths in trying to thwart the center plan and turn public opinion against Baba. During the first week of December, …

IF THEY DON’T , THEN THERE WILL BE SPIRITAL BOMBS!

(Dec. 1939) When people began coming for Baba’s darshan, they naturally asked questions about the war, and Baba stated many things about its inevitability. After a few days, Baba informed Dr. Ghani, “You should write down all my statements about the war and have them printed and distributed.” Smiling, Ghani remarked, “What effect will a booklet have? It doesn’t look …

WHO HAS FAITH IN GOD?

(Dec. 1964) Govindas’ son, who was a government minister in the Madhya Pradesh cabinet, had recently expired, and Govindas was sad and miserable over the death. (Some people consider it a malediction to have a child die before the parents.) Govindas pleaded before Baba, “I want peace.” Baba replied, “I will surely give you peace; but come to Poona in …

DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE GHOST. I WILL TAKE CARE OF IT.

On December 4th (1942), Baba left Lonavla for mast work in Raichur. (1) He returned after a week, on December 10th. Mehera, Mani and Gaimai all had the experience of being bothered by a ghost in Lonavla. When Mehera was sleeping, her arm was pulled; Mani’s entire body was shaken. Baba assured them, “Don’t worry about it; I will take …

TWO MESSAGES

Two messages were given during these gatherings. The first was about religious “Rituals and Ceremonies:” The diverse rituals and ceremonies of different religions and cults are intended to release divine love, but they mostly bind the soul to the repetitive mechanism of expressive forms. Attachment to the rigid forms of external expressions of love to God not only limits the …

AN ORDER IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN . . .

During one incident while holding darshan in Bombay on December . . . (1937) a finely dressed young gentleman was in line. He was weeping and bemoaning. When he approached Baba, Baba stopped him, looked into his eyes and asked, “Did you carry out all my orders?” The young man could not say a word. Baba spelled out, “An order …

YOU CAN ONLY SEE WHAT YOU SEE ME DOING OUTWARDLY, BUT . . .

FROM FRIDAY, December 1st, 1967, Meher Baba’s state intensified and he powerfully embarked on what he indicated was “the remaining seventy days of his seclusion work.” After each session of work, he looked exhausted and was soaked with perspiration. Eruch would wipe him dry, apply talcum powder and help him change into a clean sadra. Explaining about his work one day, …

HAS ANYONE ALREADY HAD TEA THIS EVENING?

Baba declared his intention to do some special work from the 1st of December for forty days, so on the eve of it, November 30th (1954), a qawaali program was arranged, and the singer Jadhav Qawaal was called to Satara from Bombay. A few persons from Bombay and Ahmednagar, such as Nariman, Meherjee, Adi Sr., Waman and Bal Natu, were …

WORDS HAVE NO MEANING; BECOME THE MAN OF EXPERIENCE

(Nov. 1962) One mast, Dhondi Bua, always remained naked and used to roll in the dirt. He used to say: “I cannot bear comfort!” He suffered a lot; yet I did not shower my grace on him. How then can I shower it on you who have not yet suffered hardly anything in love? Love such as the masts have …

FROM ETERNITY WE ARE ALL ONE

(Nov. 1955) Baba then touched on the publication of God Speaks in America. With hand gestures, speaking in Gujarati, he observed: God Speaks will soon be available. It is a unique book. I have explained many things there; still I will briefly explain in a way so that you may all understand it. From eternity we are all one. We do …

BY SUCH FASTING, THE BINDINGS BECOME STRONG

(Nov. 1955) One man of the sahavas group asked, “Baba, what do you mean by fasting the mind? I don’t try to think, yet thoughts come!” Baba answered him in detail: If such small points start cropping up, there will be no end to explanations. What is fasting of the mind? It is to have no thoughts. This in itself …

AN OUTWARD JOURNEY TO FIND GOD HAS NO VALUE

On November 25th, (1964) an Englishman who had become a sanyasi (renunciant) and had taken the Sanskrit name of Mahendra Nath (1) showed up unexpectedly in Meherazad. During their meeting, Baba asked him, “Where will you proceed from here?” “Hardwar,” he replied. “And from Hardwar?” “Benares.” “How long will you go on wandering like this?” “I am not wandering but …