Dr. Ghani Munsiff had one of the most gifted minds among the mandali. However, his perceptive mental faculty and keen wit would sometimes stir debate among the men. He had arrived in Meherabad a few days before, and late at night on August 19th, (1926) a heated discussion on religion and Baba’s explanations about the path to God took place between Sayyed Saheb, Ramjoo and Ghani at the school building. Baba happened to come by in the middle of their debate and found them arguing. Sayyed Saheb claimed that when he read the Koran, he found it similar to the explanations given by Baba, while Ramjoo argued that they were not similar at all. Unable to determine who was right, they appealed to Baba. To appease them, Baba explained:
My explanations are quite, quite different from the scriptures of any religion and they have nothing to do with the shariat aspect of religions. If we find any illumination in scriptures, it is in the Hindu shastras and Vedant. But they too are only a shadow of my explanations.
None of the great Masters in the past has given such explanations as I have. They were great Masters, great Prophets, and they realized so many souls. However, what they gave or left to the world was only shariat – sweet syrup. They only gave internal knowledge (gnosis) to their close disciples who were very, very few. What they said and what was written down to make books was only the knowledge and rules of rituals and ceremonies, appealing to the ordinary minds of the time.
While what I give is the explanation of the Knowledge that is beyond the scope of the ordinary intellect to grasp and understand. Even though these explanations are mere shadows of the Real Knowledge, they are beyond mind to follow. What I explain is a subject beyond the comprehension of the mind and that only to those who are prepared to digest it, not to everybody. For all can neither grasp it nor tolerate it nor even bear to hear it.
For example, I say you all are God. Whereas Islam, and all other religions, claim you are servants of God. I say Muhammad was God incarnate, but the Mohammedans say he was only sent as a Messenger.
The same is the case with Zarathustra and Christ. I want you to know that all your clapping, bhajan singing, tying the Parsi kusti and praying namaz are merely drills. Only take one name of God; give up anger, lust and greed. This is all that is necessary. But the orthodox section of any religion would blow out my brains if they heard me uttering such words! And I pity them all. Why? Because they are so narrow-minded, so shallow in their vision.
I say to you, do not be cowards like them, fearing hell and the anger of God for accepting these truths which are real Truth. The very foundation of all my explanations is sanskaras, which no religion has explained. I have so clearly and logically put it. Nowhere are sanskaras explained so elaborately or so eloquently.
Lord Meher, Original Publication, Bhau Kalchuri, Vol. 3, pp. 834 -835.
(Manija S. Irani, Meher Baba’s sister and mandali reunited with Baba on August 19, 1996.)