Kimco said, "Baba, please turn the major part of the suffering into opposition against you and expend the remaining amount some other way."
Baba smiled, and the lovers did not in fact know that opposition had already started. In the London papers, much had been written about Baba's greatness. But could that satisfy Baba? No, some criticism and antagonism must be there to strengthen the love of his lovers, the foundation of which he had already dug.
Within an hour of their talk, Kitty received a letter from her father saying that scandalous, unpleasant reports about Baba had appeared in some of the London newspapers which he thought needed to be repudiated. It was Paul Brunton who, provoked by K. J. Dastur, had published some erroneous articles about Baba in John Bull, a weekly British magazine which had a dubious reputation for exposing frauds.1 Brunton wrote that Meher Baba owned a movie theater and motor garage, had previously owned a toddyshop and kept hired women companions.
Hearing this, Baba consoled them, "Don't worry. It is a good thing. It is an aspect of my game and I am happy to face this situation. This opposition has been deliberately created by me to give a greater force and effect to my work in the West, and to the [spiritual] 'earthquake' and upheaval that is also to take place. But what I wish of you is to not pay the slightest attention to it.
"My mandali know me and my game; so they remain unaffected. But I tell you all that you should not get upset in the least. Just moments ago you were telling me to distribute a major portion of my suffering through the display of antagonism toward me, and now that it has happened, you have already begun worrying. Don't think about it at all! It is my own play and I know who is responsible for it."
Margaret asked, "Baba, will you tell us who has done it? In the newspapers, there is no mention of who has written the article."
Baba smiled and said:
Since you want to know, I will tell you. It is Raphael Hurst [Paul Brunton]. He is creating opposition against me in London. The poor chap is to be pitied; we should pity him rather than blame him. Unknowingly, he has been made an instrument of K. J. Dastur in India. He is unaware of the real situation, inner details and aim. Dastur is the cause of all this animosity. What hypocrisy! What humbug this is! He is creating false propaganda against me, saying that I am running ashrams only for show, keeping paid women servants, and speaking with the mandali while simply pretending to keep silence in public to deceive people. But the facts are different which I will clarify here out of my love for you.
Footnotes
- 1.The title John Bull is in reference to a cartoon figure, used to represent the United Kingdom (in the same way that Uncle Sam is often used to represent America).