With empathy, Merwan Seth would patiently listen to
their troubles and offer suggestions to solve them. Gradually, every
acquaintance yearned for more and more of his company and would take every
opportunity to be with him.
Merwan Seth never favored any religion, caste or creed
above others; all are from one God, he would emphasize, and he would write poems
and shairees (couplets) on this theme.
He advised others not to
criticize other religions and to "respect all religions as our own."
These four lines, taken from one of his early poems, show the depth of his
understanding and the purity of his thought about other religions:
One Soul in different bodies; One Father having different children with different
natures. Others' religions — why should we speak ill of
them? All religions are good, only we are bad.
Merwan Seth gave this simple explanation about God and
religion:
Basically, religion is one; there is only one religion. The source from which this religion has come into being is continuous despite
the lapses of ages. Yet several branches have come forth from this one religion
— such as the Zoroastrian, Hindu, and Mohammedan religions. There have
been many others.
For example, water from the tap fills different pots
for different purposes — like washing, cooking, drinking, et cetera. The
source — the tap — is the same. Similarly, the Hindu or Mohammedan
religion, or the Zoroastrian or Buddhist or Christian religion, spring from the
same source which is God.
Occasionally, Merwan Seth would revisit the toddyshop in
the evenings. But no matter how large the crowd there would be or how busy the
shop was, he would not lend a helping hand to Behramji. Instead, he would
politely excuse himself and go to the house of a Muslim named Munshi Shaikh
Abdur Rahim. Munshiji was the storekeeper at the Public Works Department
in Poona. His office assistant was Sayyed Saheb, through whom Munshiji had heard
about Merwan Seth.
One day Merwan Seth went to Munshiji's office
concerning some business with the toddyshop. Without knowing who he was,
Munshiji was so taken by Merwan's appearance that he could not even say,
"May I help you, sir?" Munshiji simply stared at the striking figure
and wondered who this young man was. Merwan introduced himself and proceeded to
get his work done. After he left, Munshiji longed to see Merwan Seth again.
Soon after, Sayyed Saheb invited Merwan Seth to visit
Munshiji's home.