But I myself don't advise anyone about it, because the things that I myself do not do, I cannot ask others to do. For example, a man may be addicted to smoking, but he does not tell others not to smoke.
Your propagation of khadi is creditable. It is cheap and besides it provides a means of subsistence to the poor who weave the cloth. It is good in all respects. For those who want to use it, I willingly allow to do so. But I cannot ask others to wear it for the reasons I have explained.
After a brief pause, Baba continued:
While on this subject, let me tell you an anecdote. The Parsis defame me and call me shaitan [devil] simply because I do not eat meat and fish. I don't drink liquor and I don't behave badly. Their definition of a Parsi is that he should be a non-vegetarian, drink wine and lead an immoral life while at the same time wearing the religious symbols of the sadra and kusti, visiting the fire-temple, and paying heed to the priests. Thus, by their behavior, they themselves are in fact devils! In short, a Parsi may do what he likes, but he is considered a pucca [true, faithful] Zoroastrian if he simply wears the religious symbols.
A fellow Zoroastrian, Colonel M. S. Irani, once came to Meherabad. At that time, I was staying in a small cabin shaped like a table, which seemed to look like a chicken coop to him, and the austere, simple atmosphere of Meherabad disgusted him. To vent his spleen, on the pretext of disclosing unworthy wrongdoings of fake sadhus and saints, he involved me also in the columns of the daily press!
[Colonel Irani's actions] are an example of a misunderstanding. He is really my friend, because he too is mine. It is only one Soul inhabiting the persons of my friends and enemies. It is the same one Soul in everyone. If a person gently rubs his cheek or slaps himself with the same hand, he would not feel upset at his hand, because it is his hand whether it soothes or slaps. Likewise, all my well-wishers and those who criticize me are mine. All belong to me and all are equal.
Upon mention of Colonel Irani, Gandhi interjected, "Is he the Colonel Irani from Belgaum?" Chanji answered that Colonel Irani had worked at the Civil Hospital in Belgaum in 1927.